Another Shameless OC fanfic
by Leo1412
Summary: Ainz is going to have some company this time around. Another Supreme Being logged in that fateful night and was transported to the strange new world alongside his guild master. How will their actions impact their new world?
1. Chapter 1

**Hey all! As the title says this is an Overlord story with a shameless insert of my own OC, Shimmering Steel. Hopefully you'll enjoy it!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from the Overlord series with the exceptions of Shimmering Steel and his created NPCs.  
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 **Great Tomb of Nazarick, 30 minutes before server shutdown**

"-Are you kidding me?!" Momonga shouted as he slammed his skeletal fist against the table. "How could all of you abandon the Great Tomb of Nazarick?! Don't any of you want to see what we've built together for the last time?"

As the Overlord continued his rant, he failed to notice a pop-up message reading [ **Shimmering Steel has logged on** ] and a mass of shiny platinum colored liquid appeared in one of the seats. As the mass of shimmering liquid looked around , he saw his comrade reaching for the guilds prized weapon, the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. He smiled to himself and cleared his throat.

"It certainly wasn't easy to get all of those materials for that weapon, Momonga-san." The mass called out, causing his leader to spin around with a speed that was surprising for his size.

"Steel-san!" Momga called out happily. "How have you been? It's been nearly a year since you've stopped playing. Did you get your promotion at the sporting goods company?"

Shimmering Steel shook his head. "Unfortunately we had to file bankruptcy. I work as a studio technician now. It's not so bad."

"Considering you get to work with Bukubukuchagama-san on a regular basis now, I'd say it's pretty good," Momonga replied, with hints of teasing in his voice.

If a heteromorphic being could blush, Shimmering Steel would definitely be showing it. It was common knowledge among the guild members that Shimmering Steel had an enormous crush on Bukubukuchagama. Having met her IRL at a convention, Shimmering Steel finally confessed his secret to the guild with the exception of his crush herself.

"Yes, well, it's not all fun and games as you seem to put it, Momonga-san." Shimmering Steel muttered, his form ever shifting in his seat.

Momonga smiled to himself as he looked at his comrade. Shimmering Steel had come a long way. As a Metal Slime he started the game with abysmally low attack and health stats. In fact most of his abilities such as [ **Evasion** ] and [ **Slippery Target** ] were perfect for running away. When Momonga, Peroronchino, and Touch Me found him he was ready to quit the game altogether. Touch Me was the first to extend a hand of friendship and soon they were helping him learn the best way to utilize his abilities.

As a Metal Slime, Shimmering Steel started the game with eye popping defensive and resistance stats. Upon his promotion to an Elder Metal Slime he saw that while his health and attack left much to be desired, it was damn near impossible to inflict damage on him. Also, he found that his racial ability of [ **Corrosive Body** ] was extremely weaker compared to that of Herohero and Bukubukuchagama, and as such allowed him to equip a wider range of items.

That being said however, Shimmering Steel could not equip pieces of armor befitting his job classes such as Sword Saint and Cursed Knight. All of his equipment had secondary abilities however none of them boosted the defense or resistance stat. Most slimes could make a humanoid form but it cost stamina to maintain such forms. The Metal Slime on the other hand could mold itself into any form with hardly any effort and with the highest tier racial evolution of Ancient Platinum Lord, Shimmering Steel could shape himself into almost anything. As an Ancient Platinum Lord he had access to a unique skill found nowhere else within the slime race. The attribute [Natural Weapons] allowed parts of his body to morph into any weapon. The weapons would deal damage based on level rather than attack stat. With his levels in swordsmanship based classes, Shimmering Steel found this was an amazing discovery. The only dowside was that fighting prolonged battles with natural weapons drained much of his stamina, which he needed to skirt around any battlefield. For that reason he avoided using it and relied on his main sword.

"Has it been so long you've forgotton what my avatar looks like, Momonga-san?" Shimmering Steel asked.

Momonga chuckled as he shook his head. "No my friend, I was just reminiscing about old times."

The slime nodded. "It certainly has been a journey. I can never thank you or the others enough for having the patience to teach me and bring me into a family which I will always cherish."

"Well it's not over yet." Momonga said, turning towards the doors that exited the conference room. "Let us take one final walk down memory lane."

Shimmering Steel slid out of his seat and followed his guild leader towards the door. Before they left Momonga turned to his friend.

"Shimmering Steel-san, would you mind if I took the Staff with us?" Momonga asked sheepishly.

The slime laughed and a grinning emote appeared in front of the avatar. "I didn't think the guild leader needed permission to carry his own weapon."

"But it's not just mine, it's the culmination of everyone's effort and-"

"-And a weapon that belongs to the guild." Shimmering Steel interrupted. "You're the guildmaster and the one that's been keeping this place in amazing condition. That's good enough reason for me. Besides, who else is going to carry it around? I'd rather it be out of the case even for a little bit rather than just collecting dust and eventually deleted."

Momonga silently nodded and took the Staff in his hands. A dark aura radiated from the seven coiled snakes. Every so often a tormented, wailing face would appear from it.

Nodding in satisfaction, both beings exited the room.

As the two made their way down the hallways and corridors of their beloved castle, each of them had their own thoughts and memories of the golden days. Shimmering Steel thought of the times when Touch Me and Ulbert Alain Odle argued over which boss to raid and farm materials from, and the times he and Warrior Takamikazuchi would talk for hours about weapons and stats. He had many fond memories of playing the game. Truly, it was all thanks to a few kind indiviuals who simply asked "would you like some assisstance?"

Shimmering Steel was lost in thought as he softly bumped into Momonga. Looking up he saw the reason why.

"Oh! I nearly forgot about these." Shimmering Steel said excitedly. "The Pleiades battle maids. And Sebas as well."

"They were meant to be our last line of defense for the Throne Room against invaders." Momonga mused. "Luckily no one ever got that far."

"True." Shimmering Steel agreed. "Although the large invasion of 1500 strong was too close for comfort."

"Mhmmm" Momonga nodded. "The NPCs you designed are still outside the Throne Room, doing the job you assigned to them."

Shimmering Steel felt a surge of excitement to see his creations one last time. Faithful Tyrak Starstorm and the ever diligent Dyshanna. Bubbling with anticipation Shimmering Steel proceeded forward. Momonga turned to the old butler and the maids.

'Might as well put let them walk around during the last moments,' He thought to himself.

He made sure he had the right command word. Satisfied he let out a cinfident order.

"Follow me."

With a bow the NPCs acknowledged the order and the party made its way deeper into the Tomb.

Eventually they made it to a vast hall. Numerous golems lined the walls along the ceiling of the structure however, on either side of a vast set of double doors stood two figures.

One was a towering creature with pale gray skin, bright electric blue eyes, and a pure silver beard. It wore a chainmail shirt with runes glowing along the links, and a war helmet with large ram horns decorating the cap. Along its belt was a large flask and numerous tools. In it's right hand was a vision of utter destruction. The Legendary-Class Weapon, Mjolnir. With the head made from otherwordly metal and channeling the raw power of lightning and thunder, combined with the ferocity and strength of a Storm Giant, Mjolnir was an unstoppable force of nature. This NPC was Shimmering Steel's creation, Tyrak Starstorm, one of the Gatekeepers of the Great Tomb of Nazarick.

It's companion was another one of Shimmering Steel's NPCs that he got as a christmas high-rarity gachapon drop. It was a customizable level 90 NPC that didn't count towards a guilds NPC level limit. Natually this caused quite a stir among the guild members, each with their own ideas of what kind of character to make. Eventually it was agreed upon that it would be a Guardian type NPC.

Thus Dyshanna was created. She was an Amazon. Strong, proud, and fierce, she was an enormous asset to the Great Tomb. Her legionaires helmet covered her face, however Shimmering Steel could see the proud, determined look on her face. Her enchanted armor glowed with softly pulsing magical script, the language of Ancients. Slung over her back was a beautiful shield. The Aegis, another Legendary-Class item. The shield of legends could repel even 9th tier magic. It's special ability was to absorb any spell and fire it back with twice the power. It's limit however was to how powerful of a spell it absorbed.

He slid up to the NPCs and took a good look. They acknowledged his presence with a bow.

"It's sad to think they're going to disappear soon," Shimmering Steel muttered. "I wish I had been around more."

Momonga said nothing as he walked up and held his hand out towards the door. As his hand drew closer the doors slowly opened, revealing the magnificent Throne Room. Shimmering Steel felt awed by the sight. From the crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling to the guild members flags swaying gently from the flagpoles. His vision traveled towards the majestic steps at the end of the room. On top of the raised area was a majestic throne, carved from a single piece of crystal, the back of which extended to the ceiling above. and there hanging proudly was the guild flag. The banner of Ainz Ooal Gown.

As the two beings and their servants moved forward, the two player's eyes moved towards the NPC standing by the throne. She was a radiant beauty, with a soft and welcoming smile. Her pure white dress contrasted with her flowing jet-black hair. The only signs of her inhuman nature were seen in the forms of two soft, curved horns growing from her head and a pair of black-feathered wings sprouting from her waist. Her golden eyes followed the progress of the two as they approached.

"Momonga-san," Shimmering Steel hissed to his friend. "Isn't that one of the World-Class items she's holding?"

The two looked at the strange wand carried by the NPC. Momonga nodded in confirmation.

"That is definitely [ **Ginnungagap** ] although what it's doing in her possession I do not know."

"Probably something left over from Tabula-san" Shimmering Steel shrugged. "Not like it's a big deal who has it now."

Nodding in agreement Momonga sat down on the throne. Looking at the Servants waiting he tried to remember the command.

"Stand by," He commanded a moment later.

After watching Momonga command the servants Shimmering Steel moved around the Throne Room. He stopped to look up at his flag. The symbol of a crossed swords over a skull with the Yggdrasil symbol for "Steel" emblazoned on the front.

Shimmering Steel was brought out of his reminiscing by the sould of stifled laughing. Curious he turned towards his companion. He saw Momonga had opened the Admin menu and had typed something into what looked like a character background setting.

"Momonga-san, care to enlighten me to the situation?"

"Errrrmmm," Momonga looked as sheepish as undead Skeletal overlord could. "I may have been reading up on Albedo's settings and changed the last line."

"Why?"

Momonga turned away. "It said she was a slut."

Shimmering Steel stared. "Oh."

Both beings were quiet for a few seconds before Shimmering Steel spoke up again. "So what did you change it to?"

Momonga coughed and pointedly tried to close the screen however he could never hope to match a metal slime in terms of raw speed.

"'She is in love with Momonga'?" Shimmering Steel turned his vision towards his guild leader.

Momonga cleared his throat. "It was meant as a joke, of course. The servers are about to close anyways."

"Well," Shimmering Steel began mischeviously. "Since you put it that way, I guess I'll add my own line to it was well."

Before Momonga could stop him Shimmering Steel typed into Albedo's settings as well.

"Albedo sees Shimmering Steel as a reliable older brother." Shimmering Steel announced. "I feel kinda bad for changing Tabula-san's NPC but I can apologize to him tomorrow."

With that the two beings faced forward. The vision of the grand hall forever burned into their mind. Shimmering Steel turned to look at his friend seated in the throne.

"Thank you again for everything, Momonga-san. Let's meet up IRL and I'll buy you some drinks."

Momonga nodded. "That sounds nice."

Looking at the NPCs he gave them one final order.

"Bow."

As the servants knelt in front of their creators, Shimmering Steel closed his eyes and awaited the closing of a large part of his life.

[23:59:55]

[23:59:56]

[23:59:57]

[23:59:58]

[23:59:59]

[00:00:00]

[00:00:01]

[00:00:02]

[00:00:03]

"...What?"

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 **Alright one chapter down! Hopefully I can update this soon. I'll have a character sheet up for Shimmering Steel and his NPCs in the near future. Hopefully you all enjoyed it. Any comments, questions, and critiques feel free to let me know. See you all soon!**

 **~Leo1412**


	2. Chapter 2

**What up y'all? Back again for another chapter in this story. First things first though. Thank you for all the support I've been getting from you. You guys make it easier to write more. Also to respond to a couple of comments:**

 **Apex: I can understand getting tired of OC fics, especially in a series like this. I'm trying hard not to make my OC into a Garysue and at the same time give him the skill set available to him as a max level character.**

 **Kyle77776: Thanks for the support. I tend to ignore the critics that don't contribute any ideas or suggestions of improvement. Though I can appreciate their opinion all the same. Can't please everybody.**

 **Omegadramon2: You know, that actually never occurred to me until I read your comment.**

 **Shalltear Bloodfallen: Sorry to hear it wasn't your cup of blood. Appreciate your honesty. Any suggestions for improvement would've been appreciated.**

 **ilas: I kind of wanted an OC that I would personally find interesting to write. Plus metal slimes were the bane of my existence in all my Dragon Quest games.**

 **BTW:**

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

 _"Message"_

[ **Spell/Ability** ]

 **So now without further ado, here's chapter 2!**

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Shimmering Steel opened his eyes. He was still in the Throne Room.

"Did the devs push back the shutdown?" he muttered, although his voice didn't sound like him at all. It was definitly past midnight.

"What on Earth is going on?" he heard a voice beside him.

Turning to look he saw a skeletal figure sitting in the throne stir in confusion. As he went to rub his eyes Shimmering Steel was confused as to why he felt so sluggish. As he tried to move he found that his motor response felt extremely unresponsive. Panicking he tried to move forward. In his haste he forgot just how fast his base speed was. Shooting forward like a bullet he could barely stop himself in time as the opposite wall approached a frightening speeds.

However even as he panicked there was a slight tugging sensation in the back of his mind that filled him with the confidence to maneuver back to where Momonga was sitting. Once he turned away from the wall Shimmering Steel zipped right back to his original position.

Before he could say anything a soft voice sounded out.

"Shimmering Steel-sama, is everything alright?"

"Eh?"

Both players turned to look at the source of the sound. Looking at the two of them were the servants, there faces filled curiosity and concern.

As Shimmering Steel looked on he realized Albedo was still awaiting a response.

"Er, yes Albedo. I apologize for concerning you."

Turning to face Momonga, Shimmering Steel saw the skeleton moving his hand through the air, trying to access the control panel.

"My [ **GM Call** ] function isn't working. Steel-san is it working for you?"

Looking around, Shimmering Steel looked for his control panel. After a few seconds he turned back to Momonga.

" The [ **GM Call** ] isn't working for me either."

Albedo continued her curious stare.

"...Please forgive my inability to answer milords questions about this 'GM Call'. I apologize for not meeting your expectations. I wish to atone for my lack of knowledge. Please, command me as you see fit."

The NPC was talking with them. There was no doubt they were carrying a conversation. This should have been impossible.

The closest thing NPCs could come to conversations were the automated responses to being addressed in a certain way. There was audio data for roars and cheering for players to download, but actually allowing an NPC to engage in conversation was an impossible task. Even the maids could only accept simple orders.

Why had such an impossible event occurred? Was this limited only to Albedo?

Momonga dismissed Albedo with a wave of the hand, and disappointment flashed across her face as she retreated. Momonga turned his eyes from her body to the butler and the six maids, whose heads were still lowered.

"Sebas! Maids!"

"Yes!"

Their voices chorused out as one, and then the butler and maids raised their heads.

"Approach the throne."

"Understood."

They responded as one, and then rose to their feet. After that, they proudly strode to the front of the throne before dropping to one knee and lowering their heads again.

This showed two things. The first was that they did not need to specially enter commands on a keyboard; the NPCs would understand the intentions and execute their orders. The second was that Albedo was not the only one who could speak.

Then, the first priority should be looking for clues as to why this was happening.

"—Sebas." Momonga spoke in what he hoped was an even voice.

He could see an earnest, sincere expression on Sebas' face. He looked like a real person.

It should be fine to give him orders, right? Although he had no idea what would happen, he could assume all the NPCs in the Tomb were loyal to them, right? For all he knew, the people in front of him might not be the NPCs that everyone had made together. Numerous questions rose up in his mind, but Momonga forced aside all these emotions. In the end, the only choice he had for reconnaissance was Sebas. He glanced briefly to Shimmering Steel, who nodded to show that he should continue. Momonga took a deep breath and decided to order Sebas out.

"Sebas, we need you to exit the Tomb and investigate the surrounding region. If you encounter intelligent creatures, interact peacefully with them and invite them into the Tomb. Attempt to accommodate the other party as much as possible during negotiations. Do not stray more than one kilometer from the tomb and remember to avoid unnecessary combat at all costs."

"Understood, Momonga-sama. I will do so immediately."

Normally, NPCs made to protect a guild base could not leave it under any circumstances. However, it would seem this restriction had been overturned.

"...Select one of the Pleiades to accompany you. If battle begins, retreat immediately and convey everything you have learned."

That was simply the first step.

Momonga let go of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown. The staff floated in the air as though someone were still holding it. This was in complete defiance of physics, but it was a common sight in the game. There were quite a few items in YGGDRASIL which would continue floating in the air when left unattended. The aura of tormented spirits seemed to cling to Momonga's hand as he let the staff go, but Momonga paid it no heed. He was long since used to that sight, but because he thought huge orders like these would not be unusual, Momonga deactivated the aura with a wave of his fingers.

Momonga grabbed his head in both hands.

Shimmering Steel looked at his friend, trying to wrap his own head around the situation.

"I think we should still try to contact the game company." He suggested.

The game company would know the most about their present situation.

The problem was actually contacting them. Normally, simply using the [ **Shout** ] command or a [ **GM Call** ] would put them in touch with a GM instantly, but if these methods did not work either perhaps another means would work?

"[ **Message** ]?"

This was a spell used to communicate in the game.

Normally, its use was restricted to certain places and conditions, but perhaps he might be able to make good use of this spell in this current situation. The problem was that this spell was originally designed to communicate with other players, so it might not be able to reach a GM.

And in this extraordinary situation, there was no guarantee that the spell would work either.

"...However…"

It was still worth a try.

Momonga was a level 100 spell caster and Shimmering Steel was a level 100 magical swordsman. If they could not cast spells their fighting power would plummet drastically. In these unknown circumstances, they had to verify that they could use magic, and quickly.

With a small beep in his ear Shimmering Steel heard a voice in his head.

" _It looks like [ **Message** ] still works properly, however it appears we still cannot get into contact with a GM_."

Shimmering Steel nodded in acknowledgment and activated his own message spell.

" _At least this confirms we have access to a means of communication. We should use this opportunity to test our other skills_."

'Now where can we go to test our abilities.' As Momonga thought about that question, he looked slowly around the Throne Room and then shook his head.

Although this was an emergency situation, he had no desire to conduct magical experiments in the almost sacred Throne Room. He contemplated suitable locations for magical testing, and then a promising location appeared in his mind.

In addition to his own abilities, he wanted to confirm one more thing. He wanted to make sure of his authority. He had to know whether their powers and privileges as the guild master and a guild member of Ainz Ooal Gown still existed.

Until now, all the NPCs he had met were loyal to them. However, in the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick, there were several NPCs on par with the guild members in terms of power. He had to make sure they were still loyal.

Momonga glanced at the kneeling Sebas and the maids, and then at Albedo beside him.

Albedo was smiling. It was a beautiful smile, but it seemed to be concealing something else behind it. As he wondered what that "something else" might be, unease crept through Momonga.

The NPCs were loyal to the guild members, but would they stay that way? If this were in the real world, subordinates would no longer be loyal to superiors who constantly screwed up.

Putting those thoughts aside Momonga declared in a powerful voice:

"Pleiades. Apart from the maid selected to accompany Sebas, the rest of you will head to the 9th Floor and repel any invaders from the 8th Floor."

"Understood, Momonga-sama."

The maids behind Sebas acknowledged his orders respectfully.

"Begin immediately."

"Understood, my master!"

Once more the chorus of voices rang out. Sebas and the maids bowed once more to their lords, then stood and left simultaneously.

Shimmering Steel turned to Momonga.

"I'm going to see if all of the NPCs are acting like this. If anything comes up I'll [Message] you."

Momonga nodded. "Please do."

With that Shimmering Steel glided past Albedo who respectfully bowed her head, and out of the Throne Room. Looking around he saw everything was in it's rightful place, including his two Gatekeepers. As they saw him exit the Throne Room they both dropped to one knee.

"Shimmering Steel-sama!" Boomed the thunderous voice of Tyrak Starstorm. "You honor us with you presence! You'll be happy to know milord that everything is in perfect condition and no intruder has approached the Tomb!"

"-Er yes, well done Tyrak." Shimmering Steel said, still reeling from the sheer volume of Tyrak's enthusiastic report.

"I trust you and Dyshana implicitly with your duties as Gatekeepers and I know you'll make me proud."

'That's what and encouraging boss would say to his subordinate right?'

"Ohhhhh, to think you put that much faith in us Shimmering Steel-sama! I, Tyrak Starstorm vow to serve you and the other 41 Supreme Beings with every ounce of strength in my body!"

"Thank you for your trust, Shimmering Steel-sama." the voice of Dyshana sounded out clearly. "Though we may be far from deserving such honor, I too shall strive to meet your expectations."

Shimmering Steel was grateful for his slime body. His creations wouldn't be able to see the sweat he was imagining pouring down his face. Hell, at the moment he didn't even have a face as far as he knew. how he could see where he was going and what he was looking at raised many questions.

'Later,' he thought to himself, giving an imaginary shake of his head. 'I need some questions answered and the best place is to head to my room.'

With a destination in mind he headed for his room on the ninth floor. After a few minutes of gliding along he stopped.

"Why am I walking? Now is a good time to see if this item works."

Opening his pocket dimension he brought out his Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown. Looking around to make sure no one was around he focused on creating a hand. After a few seconds of mental straining and the feeling of utter foolishness he managed to form an oddly shaped hand. Deciding it would work for now he equipped the ring.

Focusing on the teleportation magic he found himself thrust into his bedchambers. The brightly lit room greeted him. The piles of jewels and gold that littered the floor seemed to sparkle even more brilliantly as if to greet him home. Looking at the piles of wealth he remembered that due to several of his levels went into the Racial Class [Jewel Slime] due to one of its unique abilities which was to produce several different gemstones in great amounts everyday.

These gemstones were then able to be used for any manner of crafting and enhancing. Since he maxed out that Racial Class the amount he could produce a day and the rarity of these gems was quite high. Of course increasing a gems rarity meant the less he could produce. However a downside of that ability was that he needed to sleep surrounded by large amounts of wealth or having high rarity items equipped. While having a Ring of Sustenance would help curb his need for food and sleep, he could not recharge many of his racial abilities without proper rest.

Moving along the piles of wealth he found a rather gaudy looking mirror. It wasn't anything magical, just a golden full-length mirror with twisting roses made from emeralds and rubies winding up the side. Looking at his reflection he saw a shining blob stare back at him.

"So this is what I look like right now..." he muttered.

The reflection in the mirror showed a tall blob of shining liquid metal standing roughly around five feet tall and about a foot wide. While other slimes like Bukubukuchagama and Herohero had forms that would roil and move around, Shimmering Steel found that his form seemed more solidified. Around what he could assume was his face he saw two round white holes that reminded him of a doppelgangers default facial features.

Assuming those were his visual receptors he decided to run some tests with changing his form. While he wasn't sure how to shift his appearance, something in the back of his mind made him realize it was as natural as breathing. Imagining a body he thought of all the health and sports magazines he took from his office he saw his form start to stretch upwards, and limbs started forming.

As he continued visualizing a body his mind wandered to the summer edition, more specifically the swimsuit catalog. Remembering the cute girls he got to work with for the photo shoot he smiled to himself.

'Those were good times' he thought to himself.

"I should probably get back to the shape training."

Looking at the mirror he fell over in shock.

"W-w-what the hell?!"

Staring back at him now was a medium sized, athletic female figure. Her face smooth rose gold, devoid of any eyes or mouth, followed by a slender neck and a modestly curvy body. Looking at his new limbs and his new reflection he was shocked into silence.

"This is so weird... Wait, my voice!"

While his body changed he found, to his discomfort and confusion, his voice did not. To hear his voice come from such a different body made him concentrate on creating a suitable male body.

Mentally closing his eyes and concentrating further he could feel his body changing. His height stretched a little more, his muscles became more toned, and gave the overall appearance of an athlete. Smiling to himself he saw in the mirror a reflection he was happy with. The color was still the rose gold, however that was changed into a shining silver with a mere thought.

Going over his reflection he saw that his was still devoid of features such as eyes and a mouth. Shrugging he walked away from the mirror and sat on one of his gold piles. While the hard metal would have made the action uncomfortable, to him it was like a luxurious mattress covered in the softest silk sheets.

"None of this makes sense." Shimmering Steel spoke aloud. "NPCs following orders not found in the command list, conversing with them as if they're actually real... What's happened to us?"

Lost in his mutterings he felt a presence moving about Nazarick. Not knowing what it was he sat up quickly, on alert. Focusing on where he was feeling the intense pressure he was surprised to feel it coming from the sixth floor Colosseum. After doing a quick inventory search he once again concentrated on the ring's magic. His vision darkened as he felt himself being pulled into a void.

The first thing he saw were all the guardians of the Great Tomb of Nazarick standing around two females. One was the Guardian Overseer Albedo and the other he recognized as his friend Peroronchino's creation: the Guardian of the first, second, and third floor, Shalltear Bloodfallen. Both of them emitting an aura that would make most monsters flee for their lives, Shimmering Steel included.

As he silently approached he could here part of their conversation.

"-flapping your gums, lamprey! See where it gets you!" Albedo raged

"The Supreme Beings made me what I am!" Shalltear shot back. "I take pride in that! Do you have problems with the judgement of the Supreme Beings?! Huh?! Gorilla Overseer!"

Both women locked eyes with each other. Albedo started to unfurl her wings, a dark purple miasma started to swirl around her. In response Shalltear adopted a fighting stance, black and red mist wreathing around her form.

'Wait, what the hell is happening here?!' Shimmering Steel panicked mentally. 'And why are the rest of them just standing there watching this?!'

Through his racing thoughts Shimmering Steel heard the voice of Nazarick's resident Arch-Devil cut through the storm of unease.

"Ah... Aura, I believe this requires the touch from a fellow woman."

"Whoa, wait a minute Demiurge!" Came a panicked cry. "You can't just put this all on me!"

The tall Arch-Devil smiled as he turned around, swishing his tail.

"If it get's bloody, I'll intervene." He promised lazily.

"Umm, g-good luck nee-chan" came a soft voice.

"Truly. Hopeless. Is. This. Truly. Something. Worth. Fighting. Over?" came a rumbling voice.

"No way, even you Cocytus?" came the small wail of Aura.

As Demiurge lifted his gaze in his new direction he saw they were not alone.

"Shimmering Steel-sama!" He dropped to one knee.

At his shout the Guardians paused their actions. Looking in Demiurge's direction they paled and dropped to their knees as well.

"Milord! Please forgive us for that unsightly display!" Albedo spoke loudly. "We are ashamed you had to witness such behavior!"

'Uwaaaa this is a lot of pressure!' Shimmering Steel thought to himself. Public speaking had never been his forte. Looking at the kneeling Guardians he realized they were waiting to hear him speak. Letting out a cough he gathered the words in his mind.

"That is fine. Such passionate energy I feel from all of you."

'What the hell am I saying? Are they actually buying this? Oh well, I'm already committed so there's no choice but to continue!'

"However, I would hope you put as much energy, if not more, into the service of our beloved home."

'That sounds good, right?'

"Yes Shimmering Steel-sama!" came the chorus of replies.

Clapping his metallic hands, Shimmering Steel nodded in approval. "Excellent! Now if I am not mistaken you have several duties assigned to you."

'I don't actually know if they do or not. I'm just assuming they have duties around their floors as Floor Guardians.'

After their confirmation the Guardians started to leave. Shimmering Steel watched them leave then turned around to face the twin dark elves. The two Guardians of the sixth floor, Aura Bella Fiora and Mare Bello Fiore. These two were the creations of his crush Bukubukuchagama. He remembered that day when together they designed their respective NPCs. Aura and Mare were the two NPCs outside of his own creations he knew back to front. Plus he wrote in Tyrak's settings that the Storm Giant was practically family to the twins. Seeing their smiling faces he couldn't help but reach out and give each of them a pat on the head.

With a squeak of surprise the twins flinched but then relaxed and he saw their ears wiggle in pleasure. The scene reminded him of adorable puppies.

"Forgive me you two. I will be imposing on your Colosseum for a little while longer."

"What are you saying, Oji-sama?" Came Aura's excited voice. "Lord Momonga said the same thing earlier so I'll repeat what I told him: You are one of the forty-one Supreme Beings of Nazarick! There's no way you could be imposing!"

"T-that's right Oji-sama!" came the voice of Aura's soft spoken twin brother Mare. "You're always welcome to our floor."

"Glad to hear it." Shimmering Steel folded his arms and walked towards the center of the arena. "I have been feeling odd lately and I feel I should practice my skills. Would you two care to join me?"

"Ehhhhhhhh?!" Came the surprised voice of the twins.

"Train with you, Oji-sama?" Aura sounded hesitant.

Mare shook his head vigorously. "We couldn't! After all Oji-san is one of the Supreme Beings! We would only hold you back!"

'Not really.' Shimmering Steel thought to himself. 'My victories in PvP came from solo battles. If I get surrounded it's just a matter of time my luck runs out and they get enough hits on me to trigger my [Survival of the Fastest] escape skill. Then I have to leave my comrades and recharge my stats.'

All metal slimes had the skill [Survival of the Fastest] placed upon them as a trade for insanely high defense and resistance. It was a forced escape skill that abondoned all offense and focused purely from escaping the battle. At Shimmering Steel's level he was near-impossible to catch. In fact only three other players had managed to catch him in that state.

"Nonsense." Shimmering Steel replied. "However if you are still unwilling to do so, could I ask for you to summon several beasts to be my opponent Aura?"

"What kind of beasts Oji-sama?" Aura cracked her knuckles as she prepared her summoning.

"Hmm... lets see... mmm?" A voice broke into his head

" _Steel-san if you're not too busy could you come to the Conference Room real quick? I need to speak with you about our current situation_."

" _Of course Momonga-san. I'll be there as soon as I finish my experiment. I'm currently testing some of my combat abilities in the Colosseum. It should only take ten minutes at the most_."

"Great. I shall see you in ten minutes then."

Cutting the link he saw the twins staring at him. Clearing his throat he continued his line of thought.

"Instead of wasting your abilities for a selfish need of mine Aura, I think it'd be better if I use these."

Holding out a metallic hand, a scroll slowly rose out of the palm. Grabbing the scroll Aura's eyes opened wide.

"Ehhhh! Oji-sama! Are you sure you want to use a rare scroll like this?!"

"Mmm?" Shimmering Steel cocked his head to the side. He was sure that scroll was one of the many he stole from enemy summoners. He never looked at them since he couldn't summon anything higher than a level twenty minion. He held on to them in case their spell casters needed a quick shield. Looking at the scroll he could see that he had chosen a rather interesting fight.

A couple minutes later Shimmering Steel dropped into a fighting stance. He decided today that for the time being he would focus on his hand-to-hand combat and Martial Artist skills. Signaling to Aura he stood ready to receive his opponent.

With a nod Aura activated her abilities. As the scroll glowed in a dark purple color, a black mist rose from the ground. From the shadow came a lean, cat-like monster. It's body was the size of a large leopard, it's pelt an odd shimmering black color. Two tails lashed back and forth as it focused it's four eyes on the figure in front of it. It was a creature known as a noireline. Found usually in mid to high-level dungeons, noirelines preyed upon those in smaller parties, using its stealth and sneak attack bonuses to inflict tremendous amounts of damage. They were considered an extremely rare encounter and the rewards it dropped were usually high-rarity crafting materials.

With a hiss it arched it's back and leaped forward. Closing the distance between them with frightening speed, the noireline lunged forward with a bite. Twisting his body, Shimmering Steel spun away to avoid the sharp teeth. Using the momentum from his dodge he struck the body of the noireline with his elbow. With a dull thud he felt the blow connect. However the noireline was barely knocked of balance as it swung one of its spiked tails at Shimmering Steel.

As he saw the tail coming towards him, Shimmering Steel activated a [ **Quickstep** ] and phased out of sight only to reappear on the other side of the beast. Thrusting his palm towards the noireline he activated another class skill. [ **Paralyzing Palm** ] was a lower-tier skill all Martial Artists could learn by level fifteen. It's usefulness started dropping around level thirty as many beasts started developing status immunities, with paralysis being a rather annoying constant.

Shimmering Steel's palm slammed into the neck of the noireline. At the point of impact one could see faint ripples glide along the body of the beast. With a startled yowl the beast dropped to the floor, twitching, unable to move a muscle.

"It appears I am still unable to deal large amounts of damage with just my fists alone."

Shimmering Steel looked at the spot where he struck the beast. Normally those players at his level who also trained in the Monk and Martial Artist classes could leave devastating signs of a fight with their bare hands. Unfortunately that was not the case for Shimmering Steel. With his low attack stats he could inflict small amounts of damage using his fists. While he did have max levels in Martial Artist, whose skills and abilities gave him access to a variety of status inflicting and battlefield movement techniques, he did not have the levels in Monk to increase the lethality of his bare hands. However that was of little consequence to him, for he possessed another means of close combat that was just as lethal.

Sensing the paralysis was about to wear off Shimmering Steel quickly decided to finish of the beast. Looking at his arm he imagined the arm itself becoming a blade. A second later his arm flattened and the edges became impossibly sharp. This was one of his favorite ways to battle in YGGDRASIL, especially in 1v1 matches. It combined his racial ability [ **Natural Weapons** ], the deadly prowess in close quarters combat of the Martial Artist class, the sword buffs to attack and speed granted by the Sword Saint class, the magical benefits of the Eldritch Blade class, and the terrifying statuses inflicted by the Cursed Knight class.

While this was the most ideal way to fight it had a major drawback. Unlike Momonga who had the benefits of endless stamina granted to the undead, Shimmering Steel was considered a living being, one that required rest in order to recharge a number of his racial skills. That meant his stamina was limited. Granted it was higher than the average considering his levels, however in a drawn out fight he was at a disadvantage.

As the beast unsteadily rose to its feet Shimmering Steel struck forward with no hesitation. Taking a step he thrust the arm-blade forward, piercing the creature in a vulnerable area causing massive critical hit damage. The effect was instantaneous. The HP drain effect of his Cursed Knight class caused the already dying creature to shuffle pitifully in his grasp before its life faded away.

Withdrawing his arm he shifted it back to its regular form. Turning to the twins he saw their eyes sparkle with excitement.

"That was incredible, Oji-sama!" Aura shouted running up to him. "That beast couldn't even hit you once!"

"T-truly you are a master of close combat Oji-sama." Mare said, his eyes wide. "It's no wonder you are deserving of the title 'Supreme Being'!"

Feeling a bit embarrassed Shimmering Steel was again thankful for not having any facial features. With a small cough he gave them each another pat on the head.

"Thank you for your praise. It looks like I'm going to have to work hard to make sure I live up to your expectations."

He laughed as he saw their eyes light up in delight. "Now I think I have kept Momonga-san waiting long enough, as well as distracted you two from your duties as well. I might receive a scolding from the guild master."

Chuckling to himself he sent the twins on their way. Turning two a couple dragonkin he let out a command.

"Dispose of this body how you see fit."

Turning away from the corpse he looked down in his right arm that moments ago had taken the life of another living creature. He was shocked and a little disturbed to discover that the thought didn't bother him.

* * *

 **All right, another chapter down. Hopefully you aren't bored of it already. I kind of want to take my OC on his own journey, while the canon events are still happening. Who knows maybe he'll have a different impact on some of the canon events. Anyways, that's for future me to lose sleep over. As always, thank you for taking the time to read my story. Any question, comments, or critiques just let me know!**

 **~Leo1412**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello all you lovely readers! Sorry I took a while in getting this uploaded. Life happened and I decided I didn't like what I wrote so I rewrote this chapter. I hope you enjoy the latest chapter in Shimmering Steel's adventure!**

"Speech"

' _Thought'_

 _"Message"_

[ **Spell/Ability** ]

 **Please enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Overlord or it's characters. I only own Shimmering Steel and his NPC's.**

* * *

Shimmering Steel focused on the black suit of armor in front of him. Since none of the Great Tomb's alarms had gone off he assumed that either this was a friend or a summoned NPC. He quickly shook away the thought of spawned NPC, sensing the high-quality metal of the armor. That meant there was one other option.

"Momonga-san, whats with the armor?"

Since it was just the two of them in the room Momonga scratched the side of his now-covered cheek bones.

"Well, this was my own experiment so to speak." Momonga began. "I wanted to see if I was still restricted to using weapons associated to my class. You're fortunate to have access to all manners of fighting styles."

"True," Shimmering Steel admitted. "Although I can't take all the credit. Touch Me, Nishikienrai, and Warrior Takemikazuchi all helped me become a better close combat player."

Shimmering Steel smiled as he recalled the memories of his guildmates giving their advice on a better way to build a character. When he first started properly leveling up, Shimmering Steel had no idea on which classes to take. There were so many options he took little bits from all sorts of random job classes, even neglecting his racial advancements.

One day during a particularly hard battle he found that his jumble of lower-level job skills were barely an asset to his team. After nearly dying several times, they had finally succeeded in getting the material necessary for another guildmember's job advancement. During the aftermath of the raid Touch Me had pulled him aside, asking about his levels and chosen jobs. Once Touch Me saw the mess of level distribution and skills he took it upon himself to help Shimmering Steel build his ideal character.

Shaking his head at the memory, Shimmering Steel looked at his friend, who had reverted to his usual robed appearance.

"While it's nice to have a variety, I'm more suited to the front lines as a kiting damage dealer. My sword skills are invaluable but I could never beat Touch Me or Warrior Takamikazuchi. As far as hand-to-hand combat goes Sebas and Nishikienrai both outclass me by miles. The only thing I was best at was outflanking our opponents."

Momonga laughed. "You give yourself too little credit, Steel-san. Don't forget, you were ranked pretty high in PvP."

"Only in 1v1 duels." Shimmering Steel said pointedly. "Most of the time I didn't defeat my opponents. It was more I outlasted my opponents stamina and MP."

Momonga waved his skeletal hand. "Lets save this talk for another day."

"Agreed, so does this mean you're going to tell me about the armor?"

"It was merely an experiment, to test my limitations so to speak. I found that I cannot equip or use items that are dissociated to my in-game class."

Shimmering Steel nodded. "So that armor was a set you made. It's a magic item that lets you bypass your class restriction then."

"Exactly. Now whether or not I will get any use from it remains to be seen. While we're on this topic, how is your training going?"

For the past three days Shimmering Steel had been on the sixth floor, testing his powers and abilities. The entire first day was spent moving around. Practicing his movements as a default blob was particularly fun for him as he raced over and under various obstacles in the underground forest. Feeling more confident with his movements, he started his training on his sword and close combat skills. Using his humanoid form, he went through his inventory to find proper equipment that he could use. To his surprise and delight he found that Momonga had kept good care of the items he had given to him before his hiatus form the game.

He eventually settled on the items he could use without any penalty to his defensive stats. The Legendary-Class sword: Gaia's Fang, the High-Class headpiece: Eagle's Hunt, the High-Class chest piece: Shadowkin, the Top-class gloves: No Lock is Safe, the Relic-Class boots: Wanderer's Unbroken Stride, his Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown, and finally his Top-Class amulet: One Thousand Identities.

All of these items had abilities that would help him immensely, not just with combat but his other jobs as well.

Shimmering Steel was an Ancient Platinum Lord, the highest racial advancement for metal slimes, a monster found only in YGGDRASIL's highest level dungeons. Though, saying that an Ancient Platinum Lord was a huge threat would be grossly misunderstood. While he did have some racial skills and spells that could stack debuffs on opponents and could be annoyingly hard to land a strike on, his race was, for all intents and purposes, a treasure trove of materials and treasures. Shimmering Steel twice as much considering one of his other racial classes was Jewel Slime.

He had chosen these races simply due to how cool he thought some of their abilities were. Shimmering Steel sometimes regretted becoming a walking treasure chest, but then he remembered that he could literally spit up diamonds and other jewels.

Now though, on the third day of training he focused on magic and racial skills. While Momonga and the others could summon all manners of monsters, Shimmering Steel was limited to slimes only. The summoned slimes ranged anywhere from level one to level fifty but what mattered to Shimmering Steel wasn't the level, but the special abilities that came from a variety of slimes. From Predator Slimes to the special sensory Radar Slimes, he found that summoning them was as easy as breathing.

"I would say it is going rather well. Thank you, by the way, for taking such good care of the items I gave to you. Honestly I figured you would have sold them by now."

Momonga waved his hand. "I couldn't do that. Though, seeing you dressed like that really brings back memories."

Turning to look into the full length mirror, Shimmering Steel took in his appearance. Normally his equipped items would be hidden inside a mass of shifting metal-like liquid, however when he would shift into a humanoid form he could will the items to appear.

The equipment in question was currently disguised using a cash shop costume set. It could change the visual appearance of his equipment to look like any themed costume. There were over four thousand such sets in Yggdrasil's shop, and Shimmering Steel had been suckered into buying about a quarter of the collection.

He had chosen the skin "Wanderer" for his main costume. The figure staring back at him wore dark brown trousers with soft leather boots. A scaled belt wrapped around his waist with a bronzed buckle set squarely in the middle. His torso was covered with a light tan tunic and a sleeveless dark green cloak that reached the back of his knees. Around his eyes was a red strip of cloth.

The cloth was just for decoration and wouldn't affect the wearer's sight. Shimmering Steel however was a slime and didn't actually have a face. His eyes were just for decoration and his actual vision came from an area sensory passive skill.

"Setting the issue of our wardrobe aside, Momonga-san, what is our plan here. It's been three days already and we still have no clue as to why we're in this situation."

Momonga shook his head. "I'm not sure, Steel-san. I haven't felt the need to eat or sleep since we've arrived in this world but I haven't been able to come up with anything helpful. We don't know anything about this world so it's not like we can just wander around outside in ignorance."

"Well we can't just hole up in Nazarick forever." Shimmering Steel folded his arms and melted back into his slime form.

"Hmm well let's make our next step the top priority."

Momonga turned to his friend.

"I'm going to take a walk and think about it. Would like to join me?"

Shimmering Steel started towards the door.

"Sorry my friend, I'm afraid I must decline. You may have the benefit of not being able to eat but I don't. I'm going to see if I can find something filling."

With a nod Momonga switched into his armor used the ring to teleport out of the room. Shimmering Steel watched him disappear and started making his way to the kitchens. His form glided smoothly over the floor as he zipped down the halls.

* * *

After a few minutes he found himself outside of the Grand Dining Hall. As he made his way inside, Shimmering Steel marveled at the detail his friends had put into this area.

The room was enormous, with multiple tables made from Elder Darkwood in Alfheim spread evenly around the space. Soft white and gold tablecloths covered the tabletops, with pristine silverware and crystal glasses finishing the vision. White marble pillars rose to the ceiling, with freshly bloomed flowers snaking their way around them. Around the room were ice carvings of the Supreme Beings, and soft music could be hear throughout the area.

The music came from the magic item Fair Maiden's Lullaby. It was a music box that could slowly grant stamina regeneration and remove negative status effects outside of combat.

As he made his way towards a seat, a maid appeared next to him and bowed.

"Welcome, Shimmering Steel-sama! Are you here for your dinner?"

Shimmering Steel wracked his brain trying to remember the maid's name.

"Er... Yes. Thank you, Foire, was it?"

"To think, the Supreme being knows my lowly name!" the maid flushed with excitement.

"Right..."

"Ah!" The maid exclaimed. "Forgive me, Simmering Steel-sama! I have shown an ungraceful side of myself!"

Shimmering Steel sighed. "Do not worry. I don't intend to reprimand you for your enthusiasm. Instead I would just like some food. What is the menu for tonight?"

"You are truly too kind, milord!" The maid exclaimed. "As for tonight's menu the hors d'oeuvres will be a dish of Jeweled Marlin, in the form of seared fish steak on a bed of spiced Alfheim potatoes. For the soup dish we have a savory Cream of Onion soup. The main course will be a roast of Emperor Mammoth from Jotunheim. Afterwords for dessert we have Devils Cocoa Pudding. For your drink selection, Tyrak-sama has brewed a fresh barrel of ale he wished to gift to the Supreme beings."

 _'What kind of palate did we have?!'_ Shimmering Steel gawked at the menu. As someone who survived on simple home-cooked meals and half-priced supermarket bentos, this was too much.

Also, he was reminded of his NPC's build. Giants were humanoid races and as such didn't get any racial advancements. However his Berserker build was optimized at level 90. His remaining ten levels went into the Artisan Job with a focus in Brewing. This was so Nazarick could sell the brews imbued with magical effects on the Player Trade Market. It wasn't an exuberant amount of income but it was a respectfully steady amount going to the guild's coffers.

Realizing the maid was waiting for his response, Shimmering Steel gave his approval. With a nod the maid sped off. While he had some time to himself Shimmering Steel took out his weapon. Gaia's Fang was a Legendary-Class item with some amazing capabilities.

First off, it had two states. In it's "sealed" state it resembled a humble quarterstaff. It's damage output was respectful however it's sealed state contained a magic called **[Shockwave]**. As the name implied, when activated the impact of the staff hitting an opponent would cause a shockwave that would throw opponents back and cause the paralysis condition.

When "released" the quarterstaff would reveal the weapon to be a blade the owner could modify to suit their class. In Shimmering Steel's case it took the form of a sleek, medium-sized sword. The hilt's grip was wrapped in soft black decorative wrappings and bent forward at the end, with a silver pommel and blue tassel dangling from the base. Instead of a traditional cross guard, it was U-shaped and covered at least a few inches of the blade was silver-colored, straight, and instead of tapering to a point the tip ended as a razor sharp slant.

While Shimmering Steel was deadly proficient with the weapon, there was a reason Gaia's Fang was a legendary waeapon. It's release had two special abilities. One ability was [Elemental Blade]. At the point where blade met hilt, a small circular slot was visible. When one filled that slot with a gem it would give the blade magical properties in accordance to the gem recieved. For example a ruby set into the slot would give the sword fire abilities, whereas a sapphire would give the wielder control over water. Since he could summon these gems with contemptuous ease he could switch the damage with astounding speed.

The other ability was **[True Weapon Proficiency]**. It was thanks to this ability was why Shimmering Steel could help Touch Me and Warrior Takemikazuchi on the front lines. Instead of it's damage output being based off strength, the ability allowed Shimmering Steel to deal damage based off his speed stat.

The sound of footsteps approaching brought Shimmering Steel out of his thoughts and the smell of delicious food danced through the air. Realizing how hungry he was Shimmering Steel immediately eating the food set before him.

The flavor was too amazing for words. The fish steak was seared to perfection, paired perfectly with the soft texture of the potatoes. The soup was rich and savory, rapidly warming his body and relaxing his mind. The main dish was a beautiful roast that broke apart with a mere touch of the silverware. Dessert was served shortly after. Decadent chocolate pudding was brought before him and he ate it slowly, enjoying the heavenly taste.

Once finished and the plates had been cleared he got up to leave. As he moved towards the exit he paused. Turning to Foire gave a small nod.

"Give my appreciation to the Chef, Foire. It was an excellent meal."

With a bow the cheerful maid acknowledged his command. Seeing that there was no further interaction needed Shimmering Steel made his way towards his room. Upon entry he let out a sigh and collapsed on his bed of gems and gold.

"How much longer are we going to be here?" He muttered to himself. "Though, it's not like things were going well for me in the real world anyway."

Remembering the unpleasentness of his other life brought Shimmering Steel's mood down. After a brief moment of pity Shimmering Steel mentally shook his head.

'No more of that!' He scolded himself. 'Let's get some rest and figure out our next step in the morning. I wonder if I can convince Momonga-san to let us explore the area outside Nazarick. He can be really paranoid at times, although thats probably part of the reason why Touch Me insisted he become guild leader.'

As Shimmering Steel started drifting off to sleep he could have sworn he heard a woman's voice letting out a scream of joy.

* * *

The next morning Shimmering Steel was woken from his slumber as a message spell connected with mind.

 _"Steel-san, I'm heading out for a while. I'll be taking Albedo and a few of the Eight-Edge Assassins."_

 _"Sounds good, Momonga-san."_ Shimmering Steel replied sleepily. _"Have fun, don't get in over your head."_

A few minutes later his friends words replayed in his mind with greater clarity.

"Wait what?!" Shimmering Steel shouted. "Why is Momonga-san going outside?! And what does he expect me to do? Wait here while he has all the fun?"

Speeding towards the guildmaster's office area he saw Sebas exiting the room. Bringing himself to a halt he called out to the butler.

Turning around Sebas dropped to one knee.

"Shimmering Steel-sama, how can I be of service?"

Clearing his throat, or at least in his mind, Shimmering Steel responded.

"Sebas, earlier I received a message from Momomga-san. He said he was departing from the tomb for a while."

"Yes, milord. He saw several villagers being slaughtered by knights so he decided to intervene. Truly a merciful lord."

"Erm, yes. Indeed." Shimmering Steel pondered his next move. Making a decision he spoke to Sebas.

"While I trust my Guildmaster to be fully capable of handling himself, on top of having Albedo with him, I will go as well and observe the knights movements. We cannot underestimate this world."

As he turned to leave he gave out his instructions. "Sebas, while both Momonga-san and I are gone have the Tomb's defense raised to maximum. I'll be faster on my own so no need to send anyone to meet me."

As Sebas acknowledged the commands Shimmering Steel took out one of his rings from his inventory. The Ring of Gate. As the name implied the ring allowed the wearer to cast the spell **[Gate]** two times a day. It originally belonged to Bellriver before he had left the game.

Shimmering Steel made his way into the office and looked at the floating mirror on Momonga's desk. Seeing his friend raise a Death Knight his mind raced.

 _'Momonga-san is summoning a defensive-type monster on top of having Albedo as a guard? Things must be harder than we expected. Still, taking over a dead body is kinda... gross. Ah, it's running off.'_

Readying his mind he activated his ring. Normally all one had to do to teleport to a friends side in Yggdrasil was find the name listed and have a spell or item that allowed for teleportation. However he didn't have access to his console. Concentrating he pictured his friend's skeletal form. Seeing the portal appear before him he stepped through.

The blur of white refocused and various shades of green and brown surrounded his vision. As he looked around he heard a loud voice declare, "You shall remember it well, and tell everyone of my powers. I AM AINZ OOAL GOWN!"

"Huh?" Shimmering Steel let out a confused noise. "Whats with the name change?"

Deciding that wasn't important for the time being Shimmering Steel poked his form out from behind the trees and saw his friend and Albedo standing in front of two young girls inside a magic barrier. Shifting his form he reached into his pocket space and pulled out a costume crystal. This one was "Swashbuckler". After his items changed their appearance his activated his amulet. Visioning a face and skin color, he saw his metallic skin change to a light tan. Stepping out his waved a hand to his friend.

"Mo- I mean Ainz-san! How many times have I asked you not to run off like that by yourself?"

Everyone turned to look at the newcomer. The two girls retreated further into the barrier, Albedo raised her ax until she recognized his aura and bowed. Ainz on the other hand looked calm as ever.

 _'Well it's not like I can read the facial expressions of a skeleton.'_

"Apologies, my friend." Ainz shook his head. "I had assumed you were otherwise preoccupied and didn't want to disturb you."

"Well, I'm here now. What would you like me to do, Leader?"

"I need to go to my Death Knight. The knights who attacked this village must be regretting their choices by now. If it's not too much trouble I'd like you to take care of any stragglers. Just leave a couple alive to spread the name of Ainz Ooal Gown."

Casting **[Fly]** Ainz and Albedo took off. Letting out a sigh Shimmering Steel turned to the girls inside the barrier. Seeing as he was an associate of their savior they relaxed a little. Smiling he spoke to them reassuringly.

"Sorry about this turn of events. You must be in quite the shock." Walking up to the barrier he saw them stiffen slightly.

"Do not worry, I'm merely going to cast another spell for extra protection. **[Clarity] [Protection from Magic]**. These spells will protect you form any harmful magic or any magic attempting to control you."

Turning from the girls as they gave their thanks, he headed towards the village. As he got a better view he saw several armored figures fleeing from a large black monster in armor.

"Well, time to go to work." Shimmering Steel said cheerfully to himself. "Guess I should cut them off in the forest huh? **[Time Accelerator]**."

As time slowed down Shimmering Steel sprinted across the field. Running past the knights he saw through a couple of open masks the sheer terror written on their faces.

'Well I guess it's only to be expected from cowards that attack only the defenseless."

Fighting down his disgust Shimmering Steel disappeared into the forest well before the spell ended. As time returned to normal he cast a quick **[Invisibility]** spell waited for the knights to stumble into his area. Sure enough a few minutes later the knights staggered by and a couple collapsed on the ground.

As they struggled to catch their breaths Shimmering Steel deactivated his spell in stepped forward.

"Good day gentlemen." He said cheerily. "Is everything alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

The knights backed away warily. A couple shakily drew their swords. Shimmering Steel couldn't blame them for that. Anyone would be on guard after what they witnessed. Although they could show a little courage in front of him seeing as he looked human.

"W-who are you, and why are y-you here?" One knight asked.

"Ah, yes, how rude of me." Shimmering Steel nodded his head. "Normally I would be courteous and introduce myself however I feel that is not necessary at this point."

"Why's that?" another knight snarled, his grip tightening on his sword.

Shimmering Steel cocked his head to one side and frowned. "Well do you introduce yourself to the animals you hunt? Or to the food you eat? My point is there is no point to introductions if the other party won't be alive to remember your name."

The knights turned pale and many started running again. Shimmering Steel let out a sigh as he started chasing them.

"You could at least run in separate directions. It would make this a little more fun."

As he positioned himself in the middle of the pack he attacked. Using his skill [Target lock] his vision was set on five of the knights. Flexing his body he activated his [Natural Weapons]. Five tentacles shot out from his body and streaked towards the five knights. just before impact he had the tips harden and flatten so they would act as high velocity spears. Feeling the impact of five bodies, he turned to the remaining four knights who were trying desperately to escape.

"Well, Momo- er, Ainz-san did ask me to leave some alive. Still, maybe they can lead us to the ones who sent them here. **[Summon Middle-Tier Slime: Parasitic Ooze]**."

As the sickly green slime bubbled inside one of his fingers. The Parasitic Ooze normally inhabited poison swamps and could only be summoned inside a host, either carrier or victim, and could be transferred via open wound or injection method. Shimmering Steel looked at the five bodies impaled on his tentacles weakly struggling to escape.

"Well you lot are useless. Lets see, one of them will work nicely. Parasitic Ooze, get ready for injection"

A sixth tentacle shot out his body and rocketed towards the fleeing knights. As it struck one he controlled the amount of force behind the blow. Since the tip was sharpened to a fine point it had no trouble penetrating the weak armor. Once the tip impacted the Parasitic Ooze shot into the body.

It would heal the wound then live inside it's new host for the number of days equal to the summoners level. After that time or until the summoner recalled it, the Parasitic Ooze would live in the host and gather as much information as it could. From it's diet to where it traveled, the Ooze would obtain it all.

"Now that my information gathering has started, I guess I should finish you lot. Though I think sending you back to the Tomb to atone for your actions will be much better. Lets see... **[Summon Low-Tier Slime: Heal Slime] [Summon Middle-Tier Slime: Radar Slime]**."

A bright green blob and semi-transparent blob appeared before him. Lowering the barely breathing bodies he commanded issued his commands.

"Heal Slime, take these men back to Nazarick. Take them to Neuronist and find out where their from and what their mission was. Radar Slime, establish a network around the perimeter of this village. Divide yourself so you can spread out at least half a mile from the village on all sides. Activate your camouflage and alert me if anyone comes."

With both of his summons acknowledging his orders he retracted the tentacles back into his body.

 _'Just like the other day with the Noireline, I didn't feel anything from killing those humans. It's weird. Oh yeah, if we interrogate the prisoners I guess there was no need to use my Parasite Ooze. Guess I need to plan this out more.'_

As he headed into the village he saw his friend standing to the side while the villagers were mourning their dead. As he quietly made his way to his friend's side he spoke in a hushed tone.

"I let four knights live. One has a Parasitic Ooze embedded into him. The other knights I sent back to Nazarick for interrogation."

"Good." Ainz responded equally hushed. "I've learned quite a bit about this world. I'll bring you up to speed back in the conference room."

Shimmering Steel nodded. "Sounds like a plan. Also what's with the name change?"

"Oh... erm..." Ainz seemed to fidgit. "Since we don't know if anyone else is trapped like us, I thought it'd be best to get the guild's name out. If there are other players trapped here hopefully they'll come seek us out."

"Thats a good idea. I would've never think of it that way."

"So you don't mind then?"

"Not at all my friend. I think it suits you perfectly." Shimmering Steel reassured him. "By the way, couldn't you ressurect the dead villagers? I'm sure that'll instill more gratitude."

Ainz shook his head. "They might not be so trusting of a magic caster thats good at raising the dead as he is bringing it."

"Ah, that makes sense." Shimmering Steel agreed.

It was a while later when he recieved a telepathic alert from his Radar Slime.

 _"Master, a group of 20 knights are approaching the village. Their armor is different then the ones from earlier. Another group seems to be following a ways behind. They do not appear to be from the same group."_

 _"Well done. Keep a lookout for now. Report any new parties that enter."_

 _"Yes Master."_

Turning towards Ainz he gave a nod and relayed the message. They found the chief almost immediately, talking to some of the villagers. He had a stern look on his face, but it did not seem normal. Indeed, he seemed to be quite wound up.

Ainz resisted the urge to go "Cheh" and approached the chief. After all, he had saved them once already. That meant that they were his responsibility.

"Easy Ainz-san. They have a right to be cautious after all."

"... Village Chief, is there a problem?"

The chief's face lit up, as though he had glimpsed a golden shiny wire of hope.

"Oh, Ainz-sama. It would seem there are some mounted people who look to be warriors approaching us…"

"I see…"

The chief and the other nearby citizens looked at Ainz, worried expressions on their faces. Ainz gently raised his hand as he saw this, which filled everyone with relief as he said:

"Leave it to us. Gather all of the survivors into the village chief's house right now. The chief, Steel-san and I will remain here."

A bell rang, and the villagers gathered. The Death Knight took up a position near the chief's house, while Albedo remained behind him, awaiting orders. In order to dispel the chief's unease, Ainz cheerfully said:

"Please be at ease. I will make an exception and handle this for free."

The chief no longer trembled, and smiled bitterly instead. Perhaps he had prepared himself to take this risk. After a while, they finally sighted many mounted warriors along the road leading to the village. The horsemen slowly entered the square.

"...Each of them is outfitted differently… are they not regular troops?" Ainz mused as he observed the men and their equipment.

The knights from before had breastplates bearing the the same crest, and they were heavily equipped, each in the same way. While these men were wearing armor as well, their gear varied from man to man. Some wore leather armor and some did not have their plate armor on, exposing the chain mail underneath.

Some of them wore helmets, while some went bareheaded. About the only thing they had in common was that they each showed their faces. All of them had swords of similar make, but apart from that, they also carried bows, javelins, maces, and other backup weapons.

One could say that they looked like hardened veterans of the battlefield.

"What a ragtag bunch of mercenaries." Shimmering Steel muttered.

The riders finally entered the square. The Radar Slimes report was correct. There was twenty of them, and while they were wary of the Death Knight, they formed up neatly before tri. A man stepped forward from the rest of the force.

He seemed to be the leader of the horsemen. He looked like the fiercest and most eye-catching one of his men. The leader's eyes rested briefly upon the village chief before lingering on the Death Knight and then he turned toward Albedo. He took a long time looking at her. However, once he satisfied himself that none of them were going to move, he immediately turned his keen gaze on Ainz and Shimmering Steel.

Although the man looking at him seemed to be the sort who made his living by violence, the two of them remained still.

Once satisfied, the leader spoke in a grave tone.

"—I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom, Gazef Stronoff. By order of the King, I have been visiting each of the frontier villages to exterminate knights from enemy countries who have been making trouble in the Kingdom."

His even baritone echoed through the village square, and there was some commotion from the chief's house behind Ainz.

"The Kingdom's Warrior-Captain…"

'Won't anyone tell us what's going on?' Shimmering Steel thought as Ainz spoke to the chief, his voice carrying a hint of rebuke:

"...What sort of man is he?"

"According to the traders, he was a man who claimed the championship of the martial arts tournament held before the King, and now he leads the elite warriors who are loyal to the King."

"Is the man before us truly so amazing…?"

"...I do not know. All I heard were stories."

Ainz looked closely, and he saw that each of the horsemen had the same emblems on their chests, which resembled what the chief had said about the Kingdom's emblems. That said, he did not have enough reliable information to be sure.

Gazef looked at the chief and said, "You must be the chief of this village. Can you tell me who is the person beside you?"

Ainz interrupted the chief, who was about to answer, before nodding to Gazef and introducing himself.

"There is no need for that. Pleased to meet you, Warrior-Captain of the Kingdom. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown, and I am a magic caster. The brightly dressed man beside me is my friend-"

"-Call me Steel." Shimmering Steel introduced himself with a slight bow. "I do not remember my true name so Ainz-san suggested the name to me. As my name implies I am a swordsman."

To emphasize his statement he patted Gaia's Fang, seathed in it's hardened leather sheath.

Once the introductions were finished Ainz continued his report. "This village was attacked by knights, and so we stepped in to rescue them."

Gazef immediately dismounted, his armor clattering loudly as he did. He bowed deeply once he was on the ground.

"Thank you for saving this village. I have no words that can adequately praise your kindness."

The air seemed to tremble. The Warrior-Captain was a man from a privileged class of society. It was quite shocking that such a man would bow and scrape before a couple of nobodies like Ainz and Shimmering Steel, in this world where people were so clearly divided amongst each other. From what Ainz had been told, the concept of human rights was almost nonexistent in this country — no, in this world. A few years ago, the Kingdom still sanctioned the slave trade.

One could tell Gazef's character from the way he was ready to dismount and bow to Ainz despite their difference in status. This man was definitely the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain, Ainz concluded.

"...Please, do not stand on ceremony. In truth, I did this for payment, so no thanks is needed."

"Oh, a payment. Does this mean that you two are adventurers?"

"That is close enough to the truth."

"Oh… I see. You must be powerful adventurers, then. Although, forgive my ignorance, but I have not heard your mighty name before, Gown-dono. Nor yours, Steel-dono."

"We were travelling, you see. The two of us just happened to pass by. We are nobody famous I assure you."

"...Travelling, you say. Though I regret having to waste your time, could you please tell me about the blackguards who attacked this village?"

"It would be my pleasure, Warrior-Captain-dono. Most of the knights who have attacked this village are already dead, so they will not be able to make trouble for the time being. Shall I go on?"

"...Already dead... Gown-dono, did you strike them down?"

After listening to the way Gazef spoke, Shimmering Steel realized that this world's form of address was Western-style and not Japanese-style. In other words, it went in the order of name, then family name.

At last, he had solved the mystery of why the chief looked so baffled when Ainz had asked the chief to call him Ainz. It was only expected that he would look like that when asked to address someone in such an unfamiliar way.

After realizing his mistake, Ainz covered it up with his salaryman's thick skin and replied:

"Well, that is not entirely accurate…"

Gazef picked up on the hint in Ainz's tone, and turned his eyes toward the Death Knight. He must have smelled the faded scent of gore and death that came from it.

"I have a couple of questions… may I know who that is?"

"He is a servant that I have created."

Gazef murmured in shock, and then looked Ainz up and down with a keen gaze.

"Then… how about that mask? Is it a magic item?"

"Indeed. I wear it for personal and magical purposes."

The Warrior-Captain's eyes narrowed slightly. "Can you remove that mask so I can see the face of the village hero?"

"Sadly, I must refuse," Ainz said as he gestured to the Death Knight. "It would not be good if I lost control of him."

A look of shock flashed across the faces of the chief and gasps came from the villagers hiding within the chief's house. Perhaps he had sensed the change in the air and seen the look on the chief's face, but Gazef nodded deeply.

"I see. Then, we'd best not take it off."

"Thank you." Ainz mentally breathed a sighed of relief.

"Then—"

"Before that," Shimmering Steel interrupted. "I have a request you might not like to hear. This village was recently attacked by unknown knights, and if you gentlemen brought your weapons in, it might make stir the fresh memories in the villagers. May I ask you to place your weapons in a corner of the village square, to put the people at ease?"

"...It is as you say, Steel-dono. However, this sword was given to me by the King. I cannot set it down without his express permission."

"—Steel-sama, we will be fine."

"Is that so, Village Chief… then, please forgive my unreasonable request, Warrior-Captain."

"No, I see the logic in your thinking, Steel-dono. If this sword was not personally awarded to me by the King, I would gladly lay it aside. Then, could we sit down and discuss the details. Also, the sky is growing dark, and we would like to rest in this village for the night…"

"I understand. Then, let us return to my home together—"

In the middle of the chief's reply, one of the horsemen ran into the square. He was panting heavily, and had an urgent report. In a high-pitched voice, the horseman said:

"Warrior-Captain! We've sighted a lot of people around the village! They've surrounded the village and they're closing in!"

* * *

"Looks like the other group is making a move."

Shimmering Steel peeked out at the people surrounding the village from inside the darkened house.

He could see several people within his field of vision. They were slowly advancing on the village while maintaining an even space from each other.

They were unarmed and were not wearing armor from what he could see. However, that didn't mean much to him. Many magic casters disliked such equipment and preferred lighter gear. This suggested that they were magic casters.

However, it was the winged monsters floating beside them which confirmed their vocations. Angels. Angels were monsters summoned from another world, and according to the Warrior-Captain, many people — particularly, the citizens of the Slaine Theocracy — believed them to be messengers of the gods. However, the priests of the Kingdom ruled that these so-called angels were actually just summoned monsters.

While these religious disputes were part of the reason why the countries were set against each other, Gazef felt that their status as divine messengers was secondary to their strength as monsters. To Gazef, angels and demons, their similarly-ranked counterparts, were stronger than many other monsters summoned using magic of a similar tier. Most of them had special abilities and some could even use magic. They were troublesome foes, in his reckoning.

Of course, that depended on the individual angel. Not all of them were difficult to beat. However, the angels this time round, with their shining breastplates and flaming swords, were of a type that was unknown to him. Ainz and Gazef were watching them with him from the side.

Ainz asked Gazef, who did not know anything and could not gauge their strength:

"Who are these people? What do they want? I don't think there should be anything that valuable in this village..."

"Gown-dono, you do not know either? ...Well, if it is not wealth they seek, then there can only be one other answer."

Ainz and Gazef locked eyes.

"It would appear you have quite a number of enemies, Warrior-Captain."

"It comes with the job of Warrior-Captain. However, this is troubling. Judging by the way the other side has so many people who can summon angels, they must be from the Slaine Theocracy. It's clear that the people attacking must be a special operations unit. Perhaps one of the legendary Six Scriptures. It would seem that both in numbers or ability, the opposition is superior to us."

Gazef shrugged, indicating the difficulty he was in. He might have seemed merely depressed on the surface, but inside, he was seething with anger and panic.

"Well, they've certainly gone to a lot of trouble, using the Noble faction to strip me of my gear. However, it's troublesome for that snake of a man to remain in the courts, so I guess it should be my good fortune to be able to recognize his villainy here. Still, I didn't expect the Slaine Theocracy to have their eyes on me…"

The Warrior-Captain snorted. He didn't the manpower, plus he was under-equipped for a battle like this. On top of that he had no plan in mind. In short, he had nothing. Although, there might still be a trump card he could use.

"Ainz-san, isn't that an Archangel Flame? It looks similar, but why is there a monster like that here? Could it have been summoned?"

Gazef turned to look at Shimmering Steel and Ainz, who were in a softly whispered conference. With a hopeful look on his face, he reached for a slight glimmer of hope.

"Gown-dono, Steel-dono, if it is alright with you, would you be willing to let me hire the two of you?"

The silence was palpable, but Gazef could feel the weight of their combined stare.

"You may name your price and I will meet it."

"Please permit us to refuse." Ainz said flatly.

"Even if you could loan me that knight you summoned, that would be fine."

"I must refuse that request as well."

"I see… then, what if I conscripted you, in accordance with the Kingdom's laws?"

"That would be the worst decision you could make… I do not wish to come off as rude, but if you insist on using the authority of the Kingdom to conscript us, then I for one would be compelled to put up a bit of resistance." Shimmering Steel answered with a small edge in his voice.

The two parties looked wordlessly at each other. The first to avert their eyes was Gazef.

"Hah, that would be truly scary indeed. I'm afraid I would be wiped out before even crossing blades with the gentlemen of the Slaine Theocracy."

"Wiped out, is it? well, that's a good joke. However, I am glad you understand." Ainz responded cheerfully.

Gazef narrowed his eyes and looked at Ainz, whose head was nodded in thanks.

The words spoken just now were not a joke, Gazef's instincts told him. Making an enemy of these two would be a fatal error. In the face of this life-threatening danger, his instincts were more reliable than his intellect.

Who were they? Where did they come from?

As Gazef thought, he looked at Ainz's strange mask. What did he look like under the mask? Was he someone that he knew?

"What's wrong? Is there something on my mask?"

"Ah, no. I simply felt that mask was very special. Since that mask is used to control that monster I'm assuming then it must be a very powerful magic item. Am I correct?'

"Well, about that… I should say that it's a very rare and valuable item. One could even say that it was exclusive."

Possessing a potent magic item implied that the possessor of said item was a skilled individual. By that logic, Ainz must have been a very talented magic caster. Gazef felt a little saddened for not being able to secure his aid. Although, part of him hoped that as adventurers, they would accept the request.

"I see that there's no point to keep going on about this. Then, you two, please take care of yourselves. Once again, I thank you for saving this village."

Gazef removed his metal gauntlet and shook Ainz's hand. Originally, Ainz was thinking of removing his own gauntlets to return the courtesy, but in the end, he did not do so. Still, Gazef paid it no heed. He gripped Ainz's hand tightly.

"I am truly grateful to you two for protecting these innocent villagers from being slaughtered. Also, I know it is very selfish of me and I have no authority to make either of you do anything… but I hope you can protect the villagers here, just one more time. I have nothing to give you, but I hope that no matter what, you will heed my plea. I beg you should ever visit the Royal Capital, I will give you anything you desire. I swear this on the name of Gazef Stronoff."

Gazef let go of Ainz's hand, making to kneel, but Ainz extended his hand to stop him.

"...There is no need to go that far… Very well, I shall protect the villagers. I swear that on the name of Ainz Ooal Gown."

After hearing Ainz swear on his name, Gazef breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you very much, Gown-dono. Now I have nothing more to worry about. All I need to do now is charge boldly ahead."

"Goodness, you really have no plan, do you?" Shimmering Steel raised an eyebrow.

"My only goal is to make sure my men make it back to the Royal Capital. As long as I can delay the angels and allow them to escape, my mission will be a success. Now time grows short and I must leave."

"...Will you not you wait until nightfall before setting out?"

"The opposition should have spells like **[Darkvision]** , so night fighting will not be to our advantage, but I cannot imagine they will be hampered by it. Also, we also need to let you see if we stand or fall."

"I see. As expected of the Kingdom's Warrior-Captain, your insight is truly worthy of praise. Then, I wish you all the best, Warrior-Captain."

As they exited the Village Chief's house, Gazef made his way towards his horse. As he gave the command, he climbed into his saddle and made ready to charge. Shimmering Steel walked up to the Warrior-Captain.

"Did you need something, Steel-dono?"

Gazef had a slight glimmer of hope in his eyes, that maybe he would change his mind.

Shimmering Steel sighed. "If you're going to be reckless, you might as well live to regret and learn from your actions. **[Cat's Grace] [Blessing of the Warrior] [Greater Luck] [Spellshield]."**

As he cast his enhancement spells Gazef looked in awe as he body overflowed with power.

"Wha-what is this? Such power coursing through my body. I feel like I could take on the Empire by myself."

"Well it won't last that long," Shimmering Steel warned. "So you'd better get a move on Warrior-Captain."

"Yes! Thank you, Steel-dono! I will not waste this gift you gave me!"

* * *

The two Supreme Beings quietly watched Gazef's back shrinking into the distance as he rode off. Although her masters seemed to be thinking about something, Albedo did not inquire further.

"You know, Steel-san, when I first saw the humans here, I could not help but think of them as insects but after speaking with them, I have come to be fond of them, like a child among small animals."

"Is that why you swore on the guild's name to protect them?"

"Perhaps. Rather, I should say that it was in response to how he bravely rode to his death."

Shimmering Steel could tell Ainz admired Gazef for it. He too admired Gazef's determination, his strength of will that he did not have. As he was lost in thought, Ainz turned towards their bodyguard.

"Albedo, order the servants to search out the ambushers around us and knock them out once they are found."

"At once, Ainz-sama. Ah, the village chief and the others are here."

As Ainz and Shimmering Steel turned to look at Albedo, they caught sight of the chief and two other villagers coming over.

They reached their side, panting heavily. Filled with tension, the chief spoke immediately, as though breathing were a luxury he could not afford.

"Ainz-sama, what should we do? Why did the Warrior-Captain leave us behind and not protect us?"

The chief's words were filled with fear, but there was a layer of anger there as well.

"He is doing what he must do, Village Chief. The foes that surrounded the village has their eye on the Warrior-Captain, and if he stayed here the village would become a battlefield. The enemy will not let you flee either. He left this place for your sake."

"I see, so that was why the Warrior-Captain left. Then, then should we remain here?"

"Of course not. They will come to kill you after they are done with the Warrior-Captain. As long as you remain within their trap, you have nowhere to run. However, while the foe is dealing with the Warrior-Captain, he has given you a chance to flee. You should take it."

"That was why the Warrior-Captain rode out in force with his men. He planned to use himself as bait and lure the enemy away with a head-on attack," Shimmering Steel summerized.

The chief lowered his head as he heard about the Warrior-Captain's slim chances. The man was riding to his death just to give them a chance to flee. The Village Chief cursed his inability to understand the man's sacrifice, and how he mistook Gazef's courage for selfishness and cursed him for it.

"I can't believe I jumped to conclusions and wrongly blamed a good man. Then, Ainz-sama, what should we do now?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"We live near the forest, but there's no guarantee that we won't be attacked by monsters. We were just lucky and thought that this place was safe, so we gave no thought to self-defense, and in the end, not only did we lose our friends and loved ones, but even became a burden to you and Steel-sama"

Now it was not just the chief, but the villagers behind him who had looks of regret on their faces.

"That couldn't be helped. Your attackers were professional soldiers. If you had tried to resist, you might have all been dead before I got here."

Ainz was trying to comfort the villagers, but both he and Shimmering Steel none of them felt comforted at all. The fact was that no matter what pretty words he said, the loss of the villagers was an undeniable tragedy. All they could hope for was for time to heal their wounds.

"Village chief, there is no more time. You must move quickly so as not to waste the Warrior-Captain's determination."

"I see. Then, Ainz-sama, what will you do?"

"I will stay here and observe the situation, and then wait for a good time to escort you all away."

"We are always making trouble for you, Ainz-sama, really, we-"

"-Think nothing of it." Ainz waved his hand. "Because I made a promise to the Warrior-Captain. In any case, gather all the villagers into one of the larger houses. I will further protect it with magic."

As the villagers moved into action, Ainz turned to Shimmering Steel.

"So you enhanced his abilities?"

"Just a small amount. While the Archangel Flames we know of were weak, I'd like to see if there are any changes to them after being summoned here. You felt it too right? The Warrior-Captain may be an astounding fighting force compared to the humans here, but he's weaker than us."

Ainz nodded. "So we'll see just how different things are here than from what we know from Yggdrasil."

"Right. Besides, The spells I cast don't have a long effect time. Once we gauge their strength I'll intervene."

"If you're going to mount a rescue then take this."

Shimmering Steel saw his friend holding a small wooden statuette. Recognizing the item he grabbed it and put it in his pocket space.

"So I get to be the medic and you're going to swoop in for all the fun huh? Such a selfish Guildmaster."

"Well, I can't just be doing all of the boring work all the time now, can I?" Ainz shot back cheerfully.

Shimmering Steel laughed. turning to Albedo - who was watching with interest - he spoke lightly.

"Albedo, it goes without saying, but please do your best to protect the Guildmaster."

"Yes! Even if you didn't mention it, I will protect the love of my life to the best of my ability Nii-sama!"

"Eh? Love of your life? Nii-sama?" Shimmering Steel looked at Ainz with a confused expression.

However, Ainz suddenly found the battle against the Archangel Flames extremely interesting.

After watching the knights turn back to help Gazef, Shimmering Steel let out a sigh and started walking forward.

"I'll be right back. Message me when you're ready to switch out."

"Right. Have fun, Steel-san. Don't get too carried away. I need some still alive."

Shimmering Steel chuckled darkly as he drew Gaia's Fang. Looking at the empty gem slot he reached into his body and pulled out a piece of obsidian. Once the piece was placed the blade turned jet black.

"No promises, Ainz-san. I'll do my best to curb my excitement."

With a wolfish grin, Shimmering Steel shot off towards the battle.

* * *

 **Whoo boy. I didn't expect this chapter to go so long. In case you were wondering I based the shape and design of Gaia's Fang off of Benihime, the zanpaktou weilded by Kiskue Urahara in the series _Bleach_. It was one of my favorite designs and wanted that for myself kind of. **

**Anyways I hope you enjoyed the latest chapter. As always is you have any questions, or just want to let me know what you think your reviews are always appreciated! See you next time!**

 **~Leo1412**


	4. Chapter 4

**Oh man, it's another chapter. Sorry it took a while guys. I won't bore you with specifics but lets just say overtime hours suck when your shift is understaffed.**

 **Also in case you were wondering, Here is Shimmering Steel's Character Sheet**

 _ **Name:**_ Shimmering Steel

 _ **Level:**_ 100

 _ **Race:**_ Heteromorphic

 _ **Species:**_ Metal Slime

 _ **Job:**_ One of the Almighty 41 Supreme Beings

Raid Scout of the Great Tomb of Nazarick

 _ **Residence:**_ Great Tomb of Nazarick, room on the 9th floor

Great Tomb of Nazarick Treasury (occasionally)

 _ **Alignment:**_ -100 Neutral

 _ **Racial Level:**_ Metal Slime - 15 lv

Elder Metal Slime - 10 lv

Jewel Slime - 5 lv

Slime King - 5 lv

Ancient Platinum Lord - 5 lv

 _ **Job Level:**_ Sword Master - 10 lv

Martial Artist - 10 lv

Lord of the Labyrinth - 10 lv

Sin of Gluttony - 5 lv

Eater of Worlds - 5 lv

Others - 20 lv

 _ **HP:**_ 30

 _ **MP:**_ 35

 _ **Physical Attack:**_ 15

 _ **Physical Defense:**_ 98

 _ **Agility:**_ Exceeds Limit

 _ **Magical Attack:**_ 10

 _ **Magical Defense:**_ 98

 _ **Resist:**_ 100

 _ **Special:**_ 100

 **Anyways you know how it is. I don't own any of these lovely characters. Only Shimmering Steel and his NPCs. Hope you enjoy!**

* * *

Gazef could feel his horse's agitation through his feet.

There were only four or five of the enemy surrounding the village, so there was a large gap between each of them. However, their encirclement airtight. In other words, they had set a trap for him, and if he sprang it, he would die.

Even so, Gazef was determined to break through them. No, due to the present circumstances, a forceful breakthrough was the only choice for him. He had no chance against them in ranged combat. Maybe if he had skilled archers by his side, it would be a different matter. However since he did not have those particular resources, he had to avoid a long-range battle with magic casters.

Fighting a defensive battle would be foolish. It would be one thing if they had stone-walled houses or a sturdy fort to fight from, but he had no confidence at all in the ability of wooden walls to stop magic. For all he knew, both Gazef and the houses might go up in smoke together.

Therefore, the last tactic he could use was a thoroughly unethical one. That was to say, he would have to shift the theater of battle into the village and draw Ainz Ooal Gown and Steel into the fight, forcing the two strangers into the fray. But if he did that, it would completely defeat the purpose of coming here in the first place. Therefore, Gazef had to put himself into danger.

"Hit the enemy hard and draw in the sentries from around the village. After that, fall back immediately. Do not hesitate and miss your chance to flee."

After hearing the energetic replies from behind him, Gazef frowned.

How many of the men here would be able to go back alive?

They were not any more talented than ordinary people. These soldiers were not born with superpowers or special talents. They were just a group of men who had trained hard under Gazef. Losing the fruits of his labor here would be a terrible waste.

Gazef was going to make a stupid, senseless sacrifice, and his men were going to follow him into it. He wanted to apologize to these men, that he had drawn in with him, but once he turned around and saw them, those words died in his mouth.

What he saw were the faces of true warriors, fearless men who knew where they were headed and who had swallowed any complaints about the matter. There was no need to apologize for the looks on his men's faces, that look which said that they knew they were riding into danger, but they would go into it regardless. As if to reassure their commander the soldiers shouted aloud:

"Don't worry about us, Warrior-Captain!"

"Yeah, we all came here of our own free will, to fight and die by your side, Warrior-Captain!"

"We will protect our country and it's people!"

"Let's show these bastards the might of Re-Estize!"

There was nothing left to say. Gazef returned their shouts with a thunderous cry:

"Then, forward men! Lets paint the ground with their God-loving guts!"

With a tremendous war cry Gazef's men spurred their horses forward to follow their leader. The galloping horses shot across the plains like an arrow loosed from a bow.

Still mounted, Gazef drew his bow and nocked an arrow to the string. Though his horse shook and shuddered beneath him, Gazef calmly drew the string back. The loosed arrow flew forward and struck its target unerringly, piercing the head of the front most magic caster. Or at least, that was what he thought would happen.

"Cheh! Damn defensive magic. It was useless after all. Maybe if I had a magic arrow. Ah well, I don't have what I don't have. Griping about it here is pointless."

The arrow bounced off like it had struck a sturdy helmet. That supernatural hardness must have been the work of magic. Just as Gazef had said, in order to shoot through magic that protected against ranged attacks, he would need a magic weapon of his own.

Since Gazef did not have a weapon like that, he stopped shooting and put away his bow. The magic casters began their counterattack, and cast their spells. Gazef focused his energy, and braced himself in order to resist their magic.

Just then, the horse between his legs whinnied loudly and reared up, its front legs kicking the air.

He tightly gripped his reins and leaned forward, practically hugging the horse. Fortunately, his swift reflexes kept Gazef from being thrown off his horse. While it had caused a sheen of cold sweat to bloom all over his body, at the very least, he had managed to suppress his brief panic. There was something more important before him. A flustered and panting Gazef lashed his mount's flanks, but the horse remained still, as though someone more important than its rider were giving it orders. This strange phenomenon could only mean one thing. Mind-controlling magic. The horse had been affected by such a spell.

Gazef might have been able to fight off its effects, but the affected party was not a magical beast, but a mere warhorse, so resistance was not to be expected. Anger flared up in Gazef for not predicting such an obvious form of attack. He leapt off his horse, and his galloping subordinates guided their mounts around him, flowing past him on both sides. "Warrior-Captain!" The last men of the group slowed down, extending their hands. They wanted to help Gazef onto their horse, but the angel looking down upon them from the heavens swooped down faster.

Gazef drew his sword and swung at the angel. The blade became a swift flash of light. The stroke of the Kingdom's strongest man was enough to cleave a man's body in two. But the angel was not a man, and although it had taken a grave wound to its torso, it was not slain yet. The blood spraying into the air was the mana that composed the angel. It vanished like smoke. "No need for that! Turn around and charge them!"

After Gazef gave his orders, he turned a keen glare at the angel which had escaped with its life. It had been badly hurt, but it was still trying to find holes in Gazef's defenses.

"So that's how it is."

A strange feeling ran up his arms when his blade found its mark.

Gazef knew what it was. These monsters had a skill that would greatly reduce any damage done to them unless the attacking weapon was made of a special material. It was thanks to this ability that the angel could take a blow from Gazef without falling.

However as the feeling traveled up his arms a new feeling washed over him, as though telling to continue the offensive without restraint.

Gazef focused his energies within himself and activated the martial art **[Focus Battle Aura]** , and his blade glowed with a crimson light.

The angel took this opportunity to cut in with a sword of red flame. However Gazef was ready.

" You're too slow."

In the eyes of the Kingdom's strongest warrior, Gazef Stronoff, the angel's movements were truly too slow. Gazef's sword moved. This blow was far more powerful than the one before it, and Gazef's sword sheared neatly through the angel's body with hardly any resistance.

Its body destroyed, the Angel seemed to melt in mid-air, its glittering wings flapping a few times before vanishing as though it had been nothing more than an illusion. If Gazef had not been in such dire straits, he might well have applauded the light show. However, he did not have the time for that at the moment.

Gazef looked around, saw the enemies advancing on him in an endless tide and smiled. More angels flashed into existence around them as well. Gazef was well aware that they were not ordinary reinforcements.

"So, anything goes with magic, huh? Thats pretty damn annoying."

As he cursed the magic casters who could easily do what warriors could not, Gazef calmly took stock of the enemies surrounding him, and confirmed that this was everyone who was surrounding the village. That would mean that the encirclement of the village was lifted.

"Then, Gown-dono, Steel-dono, the rest is up to you."

The knowledge that they would protect the surviving villagers eased Gazef's heart. He smiled at the enemy's carelessness. And then, the sound of hoof beats filtered into Gazef's ears. It was the sound of Gazef's subordinates, charging back into the battle.

"I told you to scatter once the blockade went down. You're all a bunch of damn fools, I'm proud to be your Commander."

Gazef raised his sword sprinted forward. This might well be the best and only chance to end the battle. Judging by the speed of the horsemen, the enemy magic casters would need to focus all their attention on them. He would take advantage of this opportunity to cause chaos in their ranks. That was the only way.

His men's horses whinnied and reared up, just like Gazef's horse did. Several people moaned in pain as they were thrown off their horses, and the angels took the chance to press the attack. Although his subordinates were on par with the angels in terms of fighting power, the latter had special abilities with the former did not possess, and Gazef's men were soon plunged into dire straits. As he had expected, more than half of his men were fighting desperately for their lives. The spells of the magic casters only made things that much worse for them.

His men fell to the ground, one after the other. Gazef averted his eyes, and ran forward again. His target was the enemy commander. He did not think the enemy would retreat if their commander went down, but that was the only way to save everyone.

Numerous angels put themselves in the charging Gazef's way. He frowned as he saw the heavy defenses ahead of him.

"Out of my way!"

Gazef activated his trump card. Heat bloomed from his hands, and spread to envelop his entire body. Gazef broke the limits of his physical body and stepped into the realm of heroes. In addition, he activated several martial arts at once. The Warrior-Captain glared at the six angels surrounding him.

" **[Sixfold Slash of Light]**!"

This was a martial art that struck as fast as light. In one move, he hit the six angels around him. All six of them were cut in half, dissolving into motes of light. The reinforcements from the Slane Theocracy gasped in surprise, while Gazef's men cheered.

Although his ultimate attack made his arms cramp up, it was not enough to decrease his fighting effectiveness.

Then, as though ordered to drown out the cheers, a huge wave of angels swept in, and one of them lunged at Gazef with its flaming sword.

" **[Instant Counter]**!"

Gazef used his martial art just as the angel swung, and his body blurred away like mist. Halfway through its attack, the angel took a hit from Gazef. That hit reduced it to glittering dust. But Gazef's offensive did not end there.

" **[Flow Acceleration]**!"

With fluid, graceful moves, he dispatched the angels one after the other. His ultimate attack took down two more angels again. This splendid display of martial technique inspired Gazef's men and gave them a ray of hope.

But the Theocracy's troops would not allow that to happen, and their commander erased that hope with mockery.

"Well done. However, it's useless to resist your death. Clerics who have lost your angels, summon new ones. Focus your spells on the Warrior-Captain!"

The heat which had been building in the air immediately cooled off.

"This is bad."

Gazef took down another angel as he muttered to himself. It would seem there would not be any more cheering no matter how many angels Gazef slew, since his men were worrying about the enemy coming at them.

They were superior in numbers, equipment, training and individual ability. The sole weapon of Gazef's beleaguered men, their hope for victory was gone.

After unconsciously evading an incoming sword, Gazef counterattacked, and destroyed an angel in one hit. However, the enemy he was aiming for was still far away. Although his subordinates hoped otherwise, they required magically enhanced weapons to break through the angels' defenses. They did not know how to use the **[Focus Battle Aura]** martial art like Gazef could, and without magic weapons, even if Gazef's men could injure the angels, they could not finish them off.

Gazef bit his lip, and continued moving his sword. His record for the most consecutive uses of his ultimate attack, **[Sixfold Slash of Light]** , was rapidly increasing.

The Warrior-Captain could use up to six different kinds of martial arts at once, and combined with his hidden ultimate attack, that made seven martial arts at once.

Until now, he had been using martial arts to improve his physical attributes, fortify his mind, improve his magic resistance, temporarily render his weapon magical, as well as another technique that he used on hitting an opponent. That made five martial arts.

The reason why he had not pushed himself to the limit and used all seven at once was because powerful martial arts depleted one's concentration.

In particular, the **[Sixfold Slash of Light]** required three times the focus of his other techniques.

Gazef had two ultimate attacks like this, but he could only use them with four other martial arts at the same time.

He could easily defeat an angel with those techniques. But even if he struck them down, more of them were summoned anew. As long as he did not defeat their summoners, they would call up more angels to face him. While trying to run the opposition out of mana was an option, Gazef would probably tire before that.

However, while normally using this amount of Martial Arts consecutively would strain his body, he felt as though he could fight all of the angels forever. His energy levels still felt filled to the brim. He remembered the spells placed on him by the stranger known simply as Steel.

"Thank you, Steel-dono. With this I feel as though I will survive this encounter to thank you another day."

 **[Instant Counter]** was a martial art that forcibly corrected the body's balance after making an attack, resetting it to before the blow was struck. While that meant that the practitioner could immediately attack again, the forced reset of the body would place immense strain on it.

 **[Flow Acceleration]** was a martial art that increased the speed at which one's nerves functioned, increasing one's attack rate. However, that technique created fatigue in the brain.

And then, there was the ultimate attack, the **[Sixfold Slash of Light]**.

Using them put a great burden on the body, but without them, he would have no chance at all. Now thanks to his magical enhancements he felt no burden at all. Raising his sword he issued his challenge.

"Bring them all on! Your angels are nothing!"

His fearsome shout startled the Theocracy troops, but they soon recovered and renewed the offensive on Gazef.

"Pay him no heed, that's just the roar of a caged beast. Don't worry, deplete his strength bit by bit. But don't get too close. His sword is death for us."

Gazef glared at the man with a scar on his face.

If only he could defeat him, he could turn the battle around. The problem was the other angel near him, different from the ones with the flaming swords. And then there was the great distance between them, and the several layers of defenses in the way.

They were simply too far apart.

"The beast is about to make a break for it. Show him the meaning of the word 'impossible'."

The man's calm voice only served to aggravate Gazef further. Even if he stepped into the realm of heroes, Gazef could not win with his refined melee techniques alone.

Still, so what? If that was the only road available to him, then he would have to charge down it with all his strength. As the strength returned to his eyes, Gazef began his charge.

The angels loomed before him, one after the after, swinging their swords of scorching red flame. As he evaded and counterattacked and destroyed the angels one after the other, Gazef felt a rush. He could see their attacks with exceptional clarity. His body dodged, twisted, and counter-attacked in ways and with speeds he didn't know he possessed.

As he rapidly approached the magic casters one let out a yelp of fear. He threw his hands forward and screamed:

"Lightning!"

The bolt of magic raced towards Gazef. As he saw the bolt approach he braced himself. However the magic never reached him. The enemies stared as the lightning bolt vanished from existence as it hit the Warrior-Captain.

Gazef was the first to recover as he figured out why the spell failed. As he let out an almost maniacal laugh he swung towards the offending caster. As the enemies started yelling in fear and blasting him with magic Gazef found that it never reached him.

He tore through the two closest casters and leaped towards the scar-faced leader. The enemy leader in question was scrabbling backwards as the figure of death approached at frightening speeds.

"H-how?!" He screeched. "How are you able to ignore all of our magic?"

Gazef said nothing as he continued his advance. As the man continued his disgraceful retreat he screamed at the large angel.

"Attack him! Principality of Observation, destroy him!"

The Angel summoned a beautiful mace and swung at Gazef. The Warrior-Captain grinned and raised his sword. As the weapon swung towards him he activated his Martial Arts.

 **[Focus Battle Aura]**

 **[Instant Counter]**

 **[Flow Acceleration]**

The mace swung down and Gazef's body leaped into action. Ducking underneath the swing he leapt up and swung his sword upwards. Connecting with the body he saw the mana spill forth.

As he landed he suddenly felt nauseous. His vision swayed and he stabbed his sword into the ground to keep his balance. His body was wracked with fatigue and he felt as though all the energy he spent was depleting his already empty reserves.

He could barely react in time as he saw the mace swing again. His sword cracked as it absorbed the impact of the Angel's mace. Pain blossomed throughout his body as he was sent flying backwards.

As he struggled to his feet, he saw the group of magic casters summoning a fresh set of angels. Drawing two knives from his leg straps he stood in a weak stance.

"Well, if you're priests, you should act like it. How about a little healing magic over here!"

As though to answer Gazef's jibe, an invisible force smashed into Gazef's body.

Even if the enemy used invisible attacks, Gazef was confident that he would be able avoid them by reading traces in the air and the looks on his opponent's faces. That might even have worked, if there were only a few of them and he didn't feel as though standing would drain his remaining energy. However, against a large number of those attacks, there was nothing he could do. Just keeping his eyes open was taking all his strength.

The pain filled his whole body. He had no idea where it was coming from, only that it was so great it almost made him collapse. The taste of steel welled up in his throat, and Gazef spat a mouthful of fresh blood. The sticky ichor welled out of his mouth and stained his chin.

Gazef's legs were shaky after that barrage of invisible blows, and now an angel was swinging its flaming sword at him.

He could not avoid the blow, and it struck his armor. Fortunately, it deflected the sword, but the impact traveled through the breastplate and deep into his body.

He swung wildly at the angel, but his poor balance meant that the angel easily evaded the attack. Gazef's knives trembled in his hands as he gasped for breath. The fatigue that filled his body seemed to be whispering into his ear, telling him to just lie down and rest.

"The hunt has entered its final stages. Do not let the beast rest. Order your angels to attack consecutively."

The scar-faced man had regained his haughty attitude, his magic flowing as he healed his angel's wounds.

Even though Gazef desperately wanted a moment to recover, the angels surrounding him obeyed their masters and mercilessly attacked him, one after the other. He somehow evaded the attack from behind, and parried a thrust from the side. He used the strong angles of his armor to deflect an angel's charge from above.

Gazef wanted to counterattack his foes, but he was greatly outnumbered. As his strength diminished, he could barely take out one opponent at a time, since he lacked the stamina to use his knives at all. As his subordinates fell one by one, the enemy's attacks were concentrated on him. With no way to break through the enemy's encirclement, he felt death closing in on him.

His concentration faltered, and he nearly fell to one knee. He desperately tried to refocus so he could fight. The invisible impacts came again, striking the nearly unconscious Gazef. The world before him shook mightily.

Gazef used all his strength to try and maintain his balance. However, something seemed wrong with his body, and the strength that should have held him up was nowhere to be found. The itch of touching the grass spread through his body, and Gazef realized that he had fallen. He struggled to rise again, but his body betrayed him. The angels' swords meant death for him.

"Now, finish him off, but do not send in one angel. Use them all to ensure he is dead."

Yes, he was dead. His hands were shaking uncontrollably, and he could not pick up his knives. Even so, he refused to give up. His gritted teeth made creaking sounds. Gazef was not afraid of death. He had taken many lives in the past, so he was prepared to meet his end on the battlefield.

Like he had told Ainz and Steel, he was hated by many people. That hatred became a sword that would one day pierce his body. But he could not accept an end like this.

They had attacked several villages and murdered defenseless, innocent villagers, all to lure Gazef into a trap. He could not allow himself to die at the hands of honorless dogs like this, and he could not bear his own weakness.

"Don't you dare look down on me!"

He shouted with all the strength left in his body.

Blood dribbled out the side of his mouth as Gazef unsteadily rose to his feet. A man who should have been powerless to stand now stood proudly, the mighty force of his presence forcing back the angels that surrounded him.

Just getting to his feet made it made him breathe hard. His mind was a blur and his body felt like it had turned to mud. But he could not lie down. If he lay down, all would be lost. This little bit of pain he felt could not compare to the suffering of the dead villagers.

"I am the Warrior-Captain of the Re-Estize Kingdom! I am a man who loves and defends his country! How can I lose to bastards like you who stain my country with your footsteps! I will die a thousand times before I die to scum like you!"

He was certain the two mysterious men would protect the villagers. Then, what he should do was defeat as many of the enemy as he could , so the people would not meet the same fate as all the others. Protecting the future people of the Kingdom. That was all he wanted to do.

"You will die here because all you can do is babble that nonsense, Gazef Stronoff. You are already in the grave. Now it's time to bury you."

Gazef glared at the enemy commander as his cruel mockery reached his ears.

"If only you had abandoned these villagers on the border, you would not be dying here. You probably don't know, but your life is far more valuable than even a thousand of these peasants. If you truly love your country, you should have abandoned them to die."

"You and I will never see eye to eye. Come at me, bastard!"

"What can that body of yours do now other than struggle to keep you standing? Cease your pointless struggles and lie down quietly. As a final act of mercy, I will kill you without furthering your suffering."

"If you think I'm helpless, then why don't you come take my head? It should be easy if I'm like this, right?"

"Hmph. You're all talk. It looks like you still want to fight. Do you think you can win?"

Gazef simply stared straight ahead, his hands trembling as he gripped his knife. He focused on the enemy in front of him, ignoring the angels surrounding him.

"What a pointless effort. Truly, you are a fool. After we kill you, we will then massacre the villagers you saved. All you have done is bought them a fear-filled delay of execution."

"Haha... Kuhaha."

Gazef was smiling brightly.

"What's so funny?"

"Hmph, you fool." Gazef struggled to get his words out. "In that village… there are men who is stronger than me. Their power is unfathomable, but both of them could take you all out by himself… Trying to kill… the villagers they protect… is impossible for you."

"Someone stronger than the Kingdom's greatest warrior? Do you think boasting like that will do you any good? You truly are an idiot."

Gazef was still smiling. What kind of look would Nigun have on his face when he met the men whose strength far surpassed his own? If only he could see such an expression. It would probably be the best gift Gazef could receive before he died.

"Now, I believe we've wasted enough time. Angels, finish the Warrior-Captain."

Countless wings moved in response to that cold, cruel order.

As he braced himself he saw the swords swinging down. His arms refused to move. He closed his eyes, and smiled.

"I leave it to you. Ainz-dono. Steel-dono."

"Guess that your limit huh? **[Blade Art: Thousand Cut Execution]**."

Gazef's eyes snapped open as a familiar voice reached his ears. Sanding in front of him was a familiar face.

"S-Steel-dono... why?"

"No questions, just shut up and rest. I'll take care of your men."

The Warrior-Captain just stared as he saw the numerous angels that were once descending upon him all vanished in a sparkling cascade of light.

"Just who do you think - "

"Shut up." Shimmering Steel responded flatly.

Nigun stared as the newcomer turned his gaze on him. This new person has appeared out of nowhere and destroyed over thirty angels in an instant. Someone on that power level could not be underestimated. He could see the mages were struggling to summon a new set of angels. This fight was more taxing than they expected.

As Nigun was about to say something the figure put a hand on the Warrior-Captain. In a blink of an eye they disappeared and in their place stood a large robed figure in a bizarre mask and a female warrior in black armor, wielding a vicious looking axe.

"Greetings, gentlemen of the Slane Theocracy. My name is Ainz Ooal Gown."

* * *

The scenery before Gazef changed, and he was no longer on that blood soaked plain. Instead, he was in the corner of what looked like a simple village hut. There were worried-looking villagers all around him.

"What... what is this place?"

"This is a warehouse that Ainz-sama has protected with his magic. Steel-sama has been providing additional security."

"So you're the chief, Gown-dono does not seem to be here."

"No, he was here just a moment ago, but he seems to have vanished without a trace, and in his place, you appeared with Steel sama, Warrior-Captain-sama."

Gazef turned to look at the mysterious swordsman. In his hands was a vanishing wooden doll.

Gazef allowed himself to relax. He would have no part to play in what would come next. Gazef collapsed to the ground, and the villagers hurriedly drew closer.

The Six Scriptures. An enemy that even Gazef Stronoff, the strongest warrior in the region, could not hope to defeat.

Yet, he could not even begin to imagine that Ainz would lose.

As he lay there Shimmering Steel walked up to him.

"You were quite careless, Warrior-Captain. I warned you that those enhancement spells wouldn't last long and yet you remained on the battlefield, risking your own safety and the safety of your men. All of those loyal men of yours rushed back to save you and paid the price for it."

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, Steel-dono."

Shimmering Steel chuckled. "I never said I was disappointed. On the contrary your performance showed me that you are a man worth rescuing. Now rest. I will bring back your men and heal them to the best of my ability."

Stepping out of the warehouse he walked towards the battlefield at an easy pace. The heal slimes he had summoned earlier should have taken care of the majority of the injured. The dead soldiers they could take back to Nazarick.

As he hummed happily he could hear a shout from the scar-faced man.

"I would've liked to kill them, but I guess it's better if Ainz-san does it. Isn't that right, heal slime?"

The bright green blob seemed to shake.

"If that is your judgement, I will not question it, Summoner."

"Right, then take the bodies to the village. No need to completely heal them, just enough to make sure they will not die from their wounds."

"As you command, Summoner." The blob shook in understanding.

Shimmering Steel looked at the remaining corpses. Putting a finger to his temple he activated **[Message]**.

 _"Demiurge."_

 _"Ah, Shimmering Steel-sama. To what do I owe the pleasure?"_

 _"We've encountered some humans on the outside that tried to kill some villagers we saved. They were disposed of easily however it's a shame to waste such resources."_

 _"I agree, milord. However if you contacted me that means you have plans for them."_

 _"Erm, not so much at the moment but I'm confidant you will put them to appropriate use."_

 _"Of course, milord. I will await for them in anticipation."_

With the connection cut Shimmering Steel turned towards the battle. He saw a large angel appear in the sky.

He whistled. "Dominion Authority huh? I remember when those were a threat. Unfortunately for them its only seventh tier magic."

As a blinding pillar of holy light struck down, Shimmering Steel started walking towards the battle. A couple of steps later he was washed over with a crazy murderous intent. He could hear Albedo screaming in rage. As soon as he felt it, it disappeared.

"Really, what a bunch of fools." Shimmering Steel muttered to himself. "Although we should be thinking about the next step. Ainz-san is doing one thing. As a friend and fellow guild member it's only natural I support him. Although we could do more if we branch out. If the Warrior-Captain lasted that long while enhanced then it shouldn't be to troublesome for use to operate outside of the tomb."

Pondering his thoughts he briefly noticed the black hole appearing in the sky. Moments later he arrived on a silent battlefield. The bodies of the would be murderers lay sprawled on the ground.

"Looks like everything's taken care of here. Are they all dead?"

Ainz shook his head. "Not all of them. Some are just merely paralyzed. Interrogation works better when they can respond after all."

Shimmering Steel nodded. "In that case why don't you head back to the village, Ainz-san. I'm sure the Warrior-Captain would like to thank you."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. I'll call Nazarick to send a clean up crew to move these bodies."

"In that case, I leave it to you, Steel-san."

As he watched the two figures leave, Shimmering Steel activated **[Message]** again.

"Aura, I need to use some of your beasts. Have Shalltear open a **[Gate]** at my location."

* * *

The room was filled with exquisite furniture, the floor was laid with a bright red carpet. This vast room was usually draped in a thin veil of silence, and today it was even more quiet than normal. The maid who normally attended him here was nowhere to be seen. The only people here were Ainz, Shimmering Steel, Albedo, and a sword-bearing Death Knight in the corner.

Albedo spoke in a soft, syrupy sweet voice, as though trying to preserve the silence of the room:

"I have a report to deliver. The commander of the Slane Theocracy's Sunlight Scripture, who we captured, has been incarcerated in the Frozen Prison. We will begin extracting information from him with the help of the Special Intelligence Gathering Officer."

Ainz nodded. "If it's Neuronist, there shouldn't be any problems. However, I want to conduct experiments on the bodies. I trust there will be no issues with that?"

"None at all, milord. In addition, we are currently looking through the weapons and armor recovered from the men dressed as knights. They do not bear any major enchantments and will be sent to the Treasury after the investigations are concluded."

"I should be able to have my Parasitic Ooze return after a while. Hopefully we'll be able to glean for information about the knights." Shimmering Steel added.

Albedo nodded in Shimmering Steel's direction. "Of course, Nii-sama. Finally, I plan to have two Shadow Demons keep an eye on the village. All that remains is, what should we do about Gazef Stronoff?"

"Leave the Warrior-Captain be for now. It is more important that we build a good relationship with that village. We might need their help in future, so avoid antagonizing them."

"Understood. I will ensure it is taken care of. That concludes my report."

Ainz turned to look at Albedo as he said "Well done". The look on her face was slightly different from her usual gentle smile. She seemed particularly happy today. The reason was the sparkling Ring of Ainz Ooal Gown upon her left ring finger, which she caressed lovingly.

Although she could wear the ring anywhere she wanted, it was not hard to tell why she was wearing the ring on that finger. Ainz met Shimmering Steel's gaze. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat.

"Albedo, you need to understand that the love you feel for me is the result of my tampering. They are certainly not your original feelings."

Ainz could not go on. Just then, Albedo looked at Ainz and smiled.

"Before you changed me, what kind of person was I, milords?"

Shimmering Steel remembered the final line. A slut.

Neither of them could not say that, of course, but they did not know how to tell her. Though both of them appeared calm enough on the exterior, there feelings were in chaos. Then, Albedo spoke again.

"Then, I am quite happy with the way I am now, so there is no need for you to feel upset, milords."

"But - "

"But? But what, may I ask?"

Ainz did not answer, sensing something unusual coming from Albedo. She continued addressing the silent Supreme Beings.

"There is only one thing that matters."

As they waited for Albedo to continue, she said:

"Does it trouble you?"

Ainz dumbly opened his mouth, taking note of Albedo's smiling face. Her words branded themselves deeply into his brain, although his skull was empty, but Ainz knew what she was trying to say, and hastily replied:

"No, no, how could it inconvenience me?"

He was not at all unhappy with receiving the love of a beauty like Albedo. At least, for now.

"Then, is there a problem with it?"

"...Eh—"

It felt wrong. They thought that, but neither Ainz or Shimmering Steel could not find any reason to refute her.

"Then, it should be fine, right?" Albedo said again. Shimmering Steel could sense something mysterious and inscrutable in those words, and as he thought about it Ainz brought up a question in a final, desperate attempt to struggle free.

"We messed with Tabula-san's character settings. Don't you wish to go back to your old self?"

"I believe Tabula-sama would approve, with all the joy of giving his daughter away for marriage."

"Is, is that so?" Shimmering Steel shuddered. He remembered the Brain Eater's rage when Bellriver had jokingly changed one of his alchemical recipes. It had been a minor change but Tabula's rage hadn't been easy to placate.

Was he really like that? Just as Shimmering Steel was thinking about this, the sound of crashing metal rang out.

All three turned to look at the source of the sound, and saw a longsword on the ground. The Death Knight who should have been holding that sword was nowhere to be seen. Ainz had summoned the missing Death Knight not long ago.

"When I summon them normally, they disappear after a while. Interesting…" Ainz mused, quietly talking. "Given the way the sword from this world is on the ground, it would seem that equipment alone was not enough to bind them to this world, so it was left behind. If that is the case, does that Death Knight remain here because I used a corpse to summon it? It would appear that I can strengthen Nazarick if I had more corpses."

"Then, shall we collect a large number of corpses for you?"

"Try to avoid digging up that village's graveyard." Shimmering Steel interjected quickly.

"Understood. However, we must then consider a way to procure fresh corpses. Now that the Death Knight has disappeared, everyone should have assembled by now. Please proceed to the throne room with Sebas. I will go ahead first."

"Yes, of course Albedo. We will be along shortly."

As Albedo quietly left Ainz's room, the skeletal Overlord turned to his friend.

"Are you sure you're okay with this Steel-san?"

The metallic blob nodded.

"I don't have any objections. I'll just have to remember not to address you by your original name."

Ainz seemed to relax. "Thank you, Steel-san. It's reassuring to know at least one of my old comrades is here."

Shimmering Steel chuckled. "Well, I suppose stumbling around in this new world is a lot more tolerable when there's another to stumble alongside you."

* * *

Sebas trailed behind the Supreme Beings as they entered the room, fashionably late.

There were many creatures kneeling here, to show their loyalty.

Nobody in this place moved a muscle, and it was so quiet that even the sound of their breathing could be heard. Apart from that, there was only the sound of, as well as the tapping of the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown on the ground.

Ainz ascended the stairs and sat on the throne. Shimmering Steel relaxed in his blob form on the right of the throne. Sebas remained at the foot of the throne, kneeling behind Albedo.

Shimmering Steel silently surveyed the throne room from where he was seated.

Almost all of the guild's NPCs were gathered below them. They looked quite majestic when viewed from the thrones' position. Shimmering Steel could not help but silently praise his fellow guild members for their creativity in making so many different and interesting characters. As he looked again, there were several NPCs who were not present. However, that could not be helped. After all, they could not easily move the humongous golem Gargantua, and Victim, Guardian of the 8th Floor, from their positions.

However, it was not just NPCs who were gathered here. Although they were not intended to replace the aforementioned two people, this great hall also contained many high-leveled vassals who had been hand-picked by the other Floor Guardians.

"Firstly, I would like to apologize for us taking independent action."

Ainz sounded unapologetic as he said those words. It was mere pleasantry, yet the apology was extremely important. Since gathering them all was his idea, then he needed to let their subordinates know that they trusted them implicitly.

"Albedo will tell you why I have gathered you all here afterwards. However, there is a matter which is more important than that. I must tell the gathered members of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick something. **[Greater Break Item]**."

Ainz cast a spell which could destroy a magic item of a certain level. A large flag fell from one of the poles attached to the ceiling. The sigil on the flag represented "Momonga".

"I have changed my name. From now on, my name is…"

Ainz pointed to a certain place, and everyone's eyes followed his finger.

"My name is Ainz Ooal Gown. You may address me as Ainz."

He was pointing to the flag which hung behind the throne, imprinted with the icon of Ainz Ooal Gown. The Overlord raised his staff and forcefully slammed its tip into the ground, to get everybody's attention.

"If anyone objects to this, rise now and let your views be heard!"

Nobody spoke out in opposition. Albedo was all smiles as she replied:

"We have all heard your glorious name. All hail Ainz Ooal Gown! Oh Supreme One, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama, every member of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick pledges their undying loyalty to the Supreme Beings."

Shortly after, the Floor Guardians shouted as one:

"All glory to Ainz Ooal Gown! Supreme Lord and leader of us all, Ainz Ooal Gown-sama! Glory to Shimmering Steel-sama! We shall give ourselves completely to you!"

Ainz looked out at everyone.

"Next, I shall announce our new direction. This is an absolute order."

Ainz paused here, and looked around. The subordinates before him had serious, stern looks on their faces.

"Make the name Ainz Ooal Gown an eternal legend."

He gripped the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown tightly, and rapped it on the ground. Then, as though responding to Ainz, the crystals socketed on the Staff of Ainz Ooal Gown radiated light in all the colors of the rainbow, and the air around him trembled.

"There may be many heroes, but we will surpass every one of them. We will let everybody in this world know that Ainz Ooal Gown are the true heroes! If there are people stronger than us, we will deal with them in ways other than force. If we encounter a magician with many subordinates, we will achieve our goal some other way. This is merely the preparatory phase in order to let everyone know that Ainz Ooal Gown is the greatest. Let us fight together for this glorious future!"

Ainz's fearsome presence was startling, and his thunderous voice could be heard anywhere in the Throne Room. Shimmering Steel could almost taste the raw emotion in the room.

As the response came from a unified mass, Shimmering Steel could see they all had their heads bowed, as if in fervent prayer.

* * *

The Supreme Ruler of the Great Underground Tomb of Nazarick had a very luxurious office. Said office was filled with tasteful and exotic furniture, every single piece being of exquisite design and decoration. The crimson carpet upon the floor was thick and soft, swallowing the footsteps of those who trod upon it. Flags bearing assorted insignia hung upon the walls in the depths of the room. An imposing mahogany desk sat in the center of the office.

It's owner sat behind the desk, deep in thought. Across the desk, Shimmering Steel sat comfortably in a rather luxurious chair. A map of the surrounding area was displayed across the surface of the desk, with multiple items being used as place markers.

Shimmering Steel looked up as his friends and Guildmaster let out a deep sigh.

"Are you alright, Ainz-san? That's your fourth one this hour."

The Skeletal Overlord looked at him.

"I'm just... Not sure where to proceed from here."

Shimmering Steel could understand his friend's frustration. The biggest problem they were facing was the sheer lack of information about this new world they currently inhabited.

"Well, luckily the villagers were all to happy to provide us with a map. Then, how about the next report?"

"Here, Ainz-san."

Ainz accepted the document from Shimmering Steel and immediately began scanning through it. The circular characters had been written with a fountain pen.

This particular report came from Aura Bella Fiora, Guardian of the Sixth Floor.

It stated that they had not yet made contact with other YGGDRASIL players. She had done a search of the forest near Nazarick, and she had found a lake among the foothills of the mountain range at the end of the forest.

Ainz nodded as his eyes scanned the parchment.

"I understand. Let's tell Aura and her people to continue carrying out orders."

"Understood." Shimmering Steel nodded. "Now why don't we decide the next move concerning us."

"I believe the best course of action is information gathering." Ainz leaned forward and steepled his bony fingers. "We've been here for eight days now and we still don't know much. The villagers provided bare basics of this world but we need to know more if we are to survive."

Shimmering Steel found himself agreeing with Ainz wholeheartedly.

"So what do you suggest Ainz-san?"

"I believe I have found my use for the armor I created a few days ago. I will travel to one of the surrounding countries disguised as an adventurer."

"An adventurer?" Shimmering Steel lowered his head in thought. "That's not a bad idea. You could build a good reputation and travel around without any suspicions casted upon you. It'll take time to build that reputation though."

Ainz chuckled. "Well it's a good thing I won't need any rest."

"True." Shimmering Steel felt himself smile. "Maybe I will do the same. Although it might be better if we choose different areas of operation. Increase the flow of information as it were."

"Yes..." Ainz muttered. "It would be quite the benefit if we split up."

Shimmering Steel looked at the map. "According to this, the closest one to Nazarick would be E-Rantel, part of the Re-Estize Kingdom. To the north is the Great Forest of Tob and the Azerlisia Mountains. South of us is the Slain Theocracy. According to the prisoners, that's where they originated."

Ainz stroked his chin. "Let's avoid them for now. If there are any players there, they might have heard about the disappearance of the Sunlit Scripture. A new face around the area immediately after their disappearance may cause needless suspicion."

"Agreed." Shimmering Steel nodded. "The second closest then would be the Baharuth Empire."

"Then should we make those two our base of operations?"

"That would be the best choice I think." Shimmering Steel turned his gaze to his friend. "I do have one suggestion though if you'd hear it."

"Of course," Ainz leaned back in anticipation.

Shimmering Steel nodded and continued. "Since you are the Guildmaster and a rather integral part of this operation, I think you should make the Kingdom as your base. You'd be closer to the Tomb and while I know we can open a **[Gate]** anywhere, I think it's best if I take the base that's further away. It'll put the NPCs at ease as well, knowing the King is closer to the Throne."

"Are you sure, Steel-san?" Ainz focused his gaze on him. "As you said, we can open a [Gate] anywhere."

"I'm sure. Besides, it'll be like a solo quest. I'll keep in touch with [Message] and when I've secured more permanent lodgings I'll be able to travel to and from the area more easily."

Ainz crossed his arms and after a moment of thought he nodded and stood up. "If thats all then we should get this started. Once I run the plan by the floor guardians I'll head out. Is there anything you'll need from me?"

Shimmering Steel thought for a moment then shook his head.

"No, I think it'll be fine on my end. Oh, but before you go you should take this."

Holding out his hand Shimmering Steel he activated his racial ability **[Jewel Slime Creation: Gold]**. Spilling onto the desk was a small pile of gold coins. Having studied the coins of the Kingdom Shimmering Steel was able to mold his gold creation into perfect replicas of the currency after a couple days of trial and error.

"While you may be a beginner Adventurer in the Kingdom, you should have some backup funds."

Sweeping the coins into a small bag, Ainz nodded gratefully.

"Thank you my friend. Now let us be on our way. Now that we have that out of the way everything else should go quite smoothly."

* * *

Shimmering Steel whistled happily to himself as he made his way eastward. The sun above shone brightly with no clouds to cover its radiance. The Ancient Platinum Lord was currently traveling alone save for his summoned warhorse. The two had traveled for a couple of days at a leisurely pace. It had been quite the hassle for him to leave the Tomb unguarded, with Tyrak and Dyshanna being the most vocal about his decision.

In the end he managed to escape saying that traveling alone was part of the plan between the Supreme Beings. He was lying of course but to his surprise Demiurge had interrupted by agreeing with him, saying he saw the genius of the plan.

Deciding not to think about that too much Shimmering Steel focused on his task. He was hoping to enter the Empire as a wanderer, but then he'd be under suspicion for a while.

"Perhaps if I come in saying I'm a refugee... no that wouldn't work." Shimmering Steel was lost in thought as the warhorse continued it's way down the path.

His gear was disguised in yet another costume, this one called **[Dungeon Delver]**.

He wore knee-high leather boots, a cream colored, medium sleeved shirt tucked into dark brown trousers. The belt was a jet black with numerous pouches, the buckle was dull silver, shaped into that of a snake head. He wore padded leather armor and fingerless gloves. Around his body was a full mottled green and brown cloak that reached his knees. He currently had the hood drawn up as well.

Strapped to his hip was not Gaia's Fang, but a High-Class Rapier: Skypiercer. While Gaia's Fang was his weapon of choice, Shimmering Steel decided to keep it under wraps unless absolutely necessary. Skypiercer was nowhere close to Gaia's Fang in terms of abilities, but since it was a rapier-class weapon it suited him quite well. It also had the ability to extend the blade at super high speeds. One could essentially stand at a distance while sending out flashes of lethal stabs.

The horse gave a sudden jerk as it picked up an unknown signal. Shimmering Steel felt the change and was immediately on alert. Narrowing his eyes he activated a Martial Artist ability: **[Enhance Sense: Hearing]**.

He could hear several shouts in the distance, along with the roar of beasts and weak cries of wounded.

"Well, I guess I can start gaining a reputation now. Better use the amulet to make a disguise."

As he felt the amulet activate he spurred the warhorse into action. Upon approach he could see that roughly six dangerous looking demihumans were attacking a carriage. The horses were nowhere to be seen and several guards were already slain. The remaining ones weren't doing that well either. With a mental sigh Shimmering Steel charged into the fray.

Drawing Skypiercer, he thrust forward taking the first demihuman clean through the skull. Getting a clearer picture he could see these were minotaurs. Usually labryinth monsters, it was odd seeing them roam outside their tunnels. Filing that piece of information for later, Shimmering Steel lept off his horse and began his assault of the demihumans.

Skypiercer was a blur of motion as Shimmering Steel ducked and weaved around the demihumans. These Minotaurs were weak. Shimmering Steel thought these were the trash mob minotaurs that inhabited the early dungeons of Yggdrasil. If these had been the Grand Apis Champions, or the Daedalus Guardians, both extremely powerful Minotaur species, Shimmering Steel would have been in for an impossible fight.

Grand Apis Champions were huge four-armed Minotaurs that were maxed out in different fighter classes and usually leveled in the mid to high nineties. Not only were they tough to kill, but the shitty devs decided that they would be able to cast Divine magic up to the eighth tier as well. It's ultimate skill was **[Smiting Horn Charge]** , a deadly skill that did insanely high amounts of damage, along with bonus damage according to one's karma value.

Daedalus Guardians on the other hand were pure automatons. High defense and resistance, along with status immunities made for a extremely taxing encounter. They had a special ability called **[Athena's Divine Cloak]** that allowed them to absorb a certain amount of damage before they took any. That accumulated damage could then be used into an attack dealing twice the damage caused, or used to heal the caster for the amount of damage taken.

Both of these were creatures Shimmering Steel would not want to encounter, not without Touch Me or Warrior Takemikazuchi to help him with the damage. That being said, Shimmering Steel was more than confidant in dealing with the low level Minotaurs.

As four more Minotaurs fell to Shimmering Steel's deadly aim, the final one decided it was no longer worth trying to fight the newcomer. Turning and sprinting away in fear, it didn't even notice the pain shooting up it's legs. Confused as to why it could no longer move, the Minotaur let out panicked grunts. Shimmering Steel approached it from behind and circled the creature.

It's beady black eyes resonated hatred and violence, but also a hint of fear. That was obvious. One minute they were enjoying the slaughter of weak humans, the next minute it's comrades were being perforated at blinding speeds.

As it tried to let out a weakening roar of defiance, Shimmering Steel thrust Skypiercer forward. The sword punched clean through the creature's left eye.

Withdrawing the blade Shimmering Steel flicked the blood off and sheathed it. Looking at the remaining guards he walked up to them.

"Is everyone all right? I apologize for not being able to come upon your situation earlier."

The guard in charge shook his head. "No, thanks to your arrival we were not massacred. They caught us by surprise and we lost some good men."

As Shimmering Steel moved to help the guards the carriage doors burst open. A small girl with blonde hair burst out crying.

"Help!" She wailed. "Kuuderika is dying!"

* * *

 **Alright, that seems like an appropriate place to stop. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Shimmering Steel is on his way towards becoming a famous adventurer. First step: Get a favorable reputation. Next Step: Await the next chapter.**

 **Love you all!**

 **~Leo1412**

 **PS: In case any of you actually read the Character sheet and wonder how Shimmering Steel is able to deal high amounts of damage, please remember that his Natural Weapon ability does damage based on level, not stats. Also his weapons are ones that deal damage based on agility not strength.**


End file.
